Somebody to Love Part I
by Phantom Rosabelle
Summary: AU: PRIS. Andros knows better than anyone how much love can hurt. Then he meets Ashley Hammond and things start to change. Eventual Andros/Ashley.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** So yeah... I don't own Power Rangers.

**Author's Note:** I tried just to have one story, I really did! But this wouldn't leave me alone, so here you go...

**Author's Note 2:** Yes, I realize that "Stellar Staff" is an incredibly lame name for a weapon, but hey, it's no worse than "Lunar Lance" or "Super Silverizer" and I didn't come up with those. :P

**Author's Note 3:**Barring any major flashes of genius (hehe...) this is the first of three parts (shoots self for attempting trilogy.) Updating might be slow, but this story isn't going to leave me alone until it's finished. Oh, goody...

**Chapter 1**

Come in," the silver ranger hissed into his communicator. He hugged the black cloak closer to his body as the chilly temperatures of deep space began to penetrate his suit. "Did you find anything yet?"

"I just enjoy dining with the monarch of all evil and his... guests," came the sarcastic, somewhat exasperated reply. "How about when I find something, I'll **tell** you?"

"Good plan," he muttered, feeling somewhat sheepish. "Just keep your eyes open, all right? Dark Spectre and Cosmos had something planned for tonight."

"I wasn't under the impression that we came here just for the food, you know."

"Sorry..."

The quiet laugh that reached his ears did a surprising amount in the way of soothing his nerves. "You're cute when you worry... Now, I'd better go rejoin the party before someone notices I'm gone... Love you."

"Love you too," he muttered back, teeth chattering with cold. "Good luck."

With a sigh, Zhane switched off his communicator and flopped down onto the cold, rocky formation of the asteroid. It was far from the most comfortable sitting position in the world, but a crick was rapidly forming in his neck and he knew well enough that he was likely to be caught spying.

_That's why you're not down there in the first place,_ he reminded himself with a rueful grin. _'Cause you're not responsible enough. 'Cause you can't resist showing off._

The hoarse, raspy voice of Dark Spectre startled him and he jumped, slamming his head into the jagged wall of rocks. Fortunately for Zhane, his helmet bore the brunt of the damage, and his head was left feeling just the slightest bit dizzier than normal. With a sigh, he shifted onto his knees and crouched, for once remembering that he should take care not to be seen. Once he was fairly certain he was invisible to those down below, he settled himself down as comfortably as was possible to listen to the speech.

"Today marks the anniversary of a great victory for our side," he proclaimed. As he raised his own glass of sickly brown liquid, his subjects followed suit, toasting their heroes and their king.

"Two years ago today, our warriors not only forced the colonists of Karova to abandon their homeworld - "

The crowed stirred as Dark Spectre broke off his abruptly, his great head rotating in the direction of some unseen sound. The murmurs and whispers easily carried as far as Zhane's ears. He frowned, squinting off into the distance, trying to make out whatever it was that had distracted the monarch of all evil from his victory speech.

_A shuttle? _

He tensed, flattening himself to the ground, checking to be sure that the cloak covered his boots and arms. The spacecraft was of a model he'd never seen before, and as it slowly approached the asteroid, Zhane hardly dared to breathe, for fear of being spotted by its pilot.

As the shuttle was guided down to a smooth landing amongst the rocky surface, Zhane straightened up again, his curiosity getting the better of him. The hatch opened and four squirming figures were tossed roughly to the ground. Zhane winced; they'd fallen at least six feet onto the hard, rocky surface. Then two figures leapt to the ground, landing neatly side by side.

_That's Cosmos..._

He recognized Dark Spectre's 'son' and chosen heir on sight. The helmeted warrior in the hard blood-red armor couldn't have been anyone else. It was the second figure he had trouble placing, although he could tell even from a distance that it was a female. Then she spoke and his heart dropped down into his stomach.

_Dammit. That's Lyra. _

"We captured this shuttle not far from Earth, Father," she said, her voice clear and proud. The amused lilt hadn't left her voice in the last two years since Zhane had last seen her, and it was all he could do to keep himself from taking advantage of his hiding place and his Silverizer's laser mode.

_"Cool it,"_ he ordered, feeling the rage stirring up within his lover, just as it was doing within him. Rage, betrayal, pain, just plain fury, it was all there. He received no reply, but none was needed.

"This afternoon they were Earth's rangers," Lyra continued. "Now they are your prisoners, Father."

"Well done, then," Dark Spectre said, favoring his 'children' with a rare smile. The instant he did so, protests rose up from Divatox, Rita, Zedd, and countless others who believed that they were the ones responsible for the capture of these four rangers.

_"We have to save them."_

_"I know,"_ he agreed. _"I think we're close enough to the Megaship to telelport straight there."_

_"Be ready."_

_"Always."_

Zhane flipped open his communicator once again. "Deca, standby for teleportation..."

* * *

"Yellow ranger."

Ashley Hammond squirmed miserably as Lyra's taloned fingers appeared beneath her chin. Her refusal to glance up proved to be a mistake on her part, and the sharp claw-like nails dug deep into her skin, forcibly raising her face. Ashley winced but clenched her teeth against the pain, knowing that it could be - and probably soon would be - much worse.

"Fight me," Lyra hissed, her deep, dark eyes glinting dangerously. "Fight me, yellow ranger."

"W-What?" Ashley stammered. "Why?"

Lyra eyed her in disgust. "I simply wish to see whether you deserved the power given to you," she said finally. "Few yellow rangers are."

Over to her left, Ashley heard Cosmos chuckle darkly. "Lyra..."

"Let me have a little fun with this one, Cosmos," Lyra pleaded, shaking her flame red locks back from her face. "After all... yellow is my favorite color."

"If I get the rest of them," Cosmos relented.

"Do what you will with them," Lyra said with a smirk. She eyed Ashley again. "You can have this one when I'm done with her, even."

It took a monstrous effort of will for Ashley to keep her mouth shut, instead of screaming at them as she desperately wanted to do, to demand that they treat her as the human being she was rather than their property.

_But you are their property now,_ she thought bitterly. _Or at least, you are completely at their mercy._

"Fight me, yellow ranger," Lyra repeated.

Ashley hesitated. She sensed a trap, and if there was none, she highly doubted that Lyra would even consider undoing the shackles that held her almost completely immobile.

"No."

Lyra arched an eyebrow at her. "No?"

Ashley swallowed at the other's tone but stared ahead defiantly.

"Would you care to know what happened to the last person who refused to fight me, yellow ranger?" Lyra's eyes shone with the darkest light Ashley had ever seen. "Would you like to know how they screamed? So strong, too... much stronger than you, I suspect... but not strong enough."

"I..."

"Refuse and Cosmos can have you along with your friends." Lyra smirked, laughing almost delightedly to herself. "As disappointing as it would be not to fight you myself, I assure you Cosmos can think up something... equally fitting."

Ashley swallowed, her throat drier than it had ever been. "Fine."

No sooner had the word left her mouth than Ashley found herself flung to the ground, the jagged rocks of the asteroid digging into her back, tearing through her skin. She cried out in pain, just barely managing to throw herself out of the way as Lyra came at her again.

Somehow, she managed to scramble to her feet, but she soon discovered that she was just as helpless upright. Her arms were chained behind her back, making them of absolutely no use in this fight, and her ankles were chained as well. She could barely stand, let alone kick. She could see the stricken faces of her friends, equally helpless, knowing how they expected this fight to end.

Ashley gasped in pain as Lyra caught her arms, twisting them hard enough until Ashley expected to hear her bones snapping at any moment. Releasing her, Lyra shoved her forward roughly, laughing as Ashley hit the ground on her stomach, the wind knocked out of her. She could feel small shards of rock drawing blood from her face as she gasped and struggled for air, sure that she was about to lose consciousness.

"Surrender yet, yellow ranger?"

Ashley could only gape at her, her mouth opening and closing weakly as air returned to her lungs. Instinctively struggling to get back on her feet, she somehow managed to raise herself onto her knees, but from there, it was all she could do not to collapse again.

"Stellar Staff!"

"Super Silverizer!"

Lyra shouted in what Ashley thought was more shock and fury than pain, driven back by twin streaks of bright light. Too exhausted to struggle as she was grabbed up into a pair of strong arms, Ashley simply watched as a second person moved towards her friends, shouting at the same time, "Deca, teleport six!" From there, everything Ashley knew was obscured by a familiar bright yellow light.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer** Nothing's changed in the last day, so... Power Rangers still isn't mine.

**Chapter 2**

"Power down," Zhane muttered. Picking himself up off the ground, he glanced down at the girl in his arms. "You all right?"

Her head bobbed up and down weakly. "I'm fine."

Zhane raised an eyebrow, struck with a sudden urge to laugh. With her face and back bloodied and bruised, this girl was clearly in need of medical attention, and her denial of the fact... She reminded him far too much of someone else.

He sent a wry glance in Karone's direction. She stared steadily back at him, equally bemused. The moment she had freed them of their shackles, the remaining three rangers of Earth had picked themselves up off of the ground and were now insisting that they were all right.

"You're back already?"

This time, the glance shared between Zhane and Karone was more of a wince. He sighed, letting all the air whoosh out of his lungs. "Andros - "

"Who are they?" Andros cut in, his face darkening as he glared at first his friend and then his sister. "What happened?"

"We're rangers," the dark-skinned man in red answered for him. "Well, we **were** rangers, anyway."

"Rangers of Earth," Zhane added in an undertone. Andros nodded stiffly to acknowledge the words.

"I'm assuming you blew your cover tonight?" he said, eyeing the three in torn clothes and then the girl still in Zhane's arms. The moment his gaze landed on her, his hazel eyes hardened far more than Zhane would have ever thought possible.

"What were we supposed to do, let them die?" Karone retorted, fully fed up with her brother. "They're **rangers**, Andros. Rangers take care of one another. You do remember that?"

Zhane would have sworn Andros had trouble not to flinch. "I - "

His words were cut off as the Megaship shuddered violently, throwing all of them against the bulkheads. Zhane groaned, realizing that Cosmos and Lyra were disappointed over losing their prisoners.

"Deca, can you get us out of this system?" he shouted over the shrilling of the alarms.

"Affirmative."

"Then do it," Andros ordered. "Hyperrush nine."

The rush of acceleration threw them all forward again and the abrupt deceleration threw them all backward, but when the Megaship came to a halt, all was calm. Zhane let out a sigh of relief, silently thanking Deca as he stared up at her red eye.

"Right," he said. "Let's go check out the damage."

Karone sighed but nodded.

"Can we help?" one of the Terrans asked, the girl with long raven hair and a tattered pink shirt.

Zhane hesitated. "You're welcome to come along," he said finally. "If you can be of any help, we'll let you know."

"At the very least, we'll give you a tour," Karone said with a wry grin. "Come on."

Andros was scowling at them and doing a poor job of hiding it. Zhane sighed, realizing that his friend wasn't going to be of much help if the repairs were major ones.

"Andros," he said, nodding at the girl he'd never quite gotten around to setting down. "Take care of her."

Without further warning, he'd transferred the girl from his arms to Andros's, despite Andros's startled protestations. The words died in his throat as he stared down at her, and for a fleeting moment, Zhane would have sworn he saw something almost... tender flash through his friend's eyes. It was gone as quickly as it came, and when he looked again, Andros was wearing his usual sullen expression. With a sigh, Zhane turned and followed Karone.

* * *

Andros dumped the girl carelessly onto one of the beds in the medical bay. Ignoring her soft groan and the twinge of guilt that accompanied it, he began rummaging around for the supplies necessary to treat her wounds. He almost slammed them down onto the table beside the bed as he stepped over to her side.

"You're bleeding," he said shortly. "Take off your shirt, I need to see your back."

Her shoulders moved but she shook her head. "I can't."

"Why not?" he demanded.

"Hurts," she mumbled.

"Rangers - **real** rangers - can deal with pain," he said impatiently, privately glad that she was in pain. "Hurry up."

Her arms moved slowly, and she managed to shrug off her yellow sweater, but made no move to remove the black tank top she was wearing underneath. Upon taking a closer look at her back, Andros bit his lip guiltily.

"Your shoulder's probably dislocated," he said abruptly, now wishing dearly that he'd kept his mouth shut earlier. "And there's some chunks of gravel underneath your skin... I need to get your shirt off. Can you raise your arms?"

"I think so," she muttered, and it was only then that he realized that she'd been biting her lip against the pain. "I mean, maybe."

"Try," he said softly, almost gently.

With an effort, she managed to raise her right arm. He saw tears shoot into her eyes as she attempted to move her left and sighed, thinking that he should have offered her a painkiller.

"Could you... turn around?"

"What?" Andros looked at her, startled. Her words took a moment to register. "Oh."

It was with some reluctance that he turned his back to her, not particularly because he wanted to see her half-naked, but because he was quite aware of how uncomfortable it would make her if he were to turn and stare. As horrible as he knew it was, half of him just wanted to hurt her, humiliate her, watch her suffer, for no better reason than the fact that she wore the color yellow.

_She's not Kadri,_ he reminded himself sternly. _Just because she wears yellow... If this was Zeah, you wouldn't want to hurt her._

_But she's not Zeah, either,_ he thought, swallowing hard to force away the lump rapidly forming in his throat. _Zeah's gone. Zeah's dead. She's not Zeah._

_And she's not Kadri, either._

"You can look now."

Andros turned, now feeling quite guilty. She was hunched forward over her knees now. Her right arm hugged her legs to her chest as her left arm hung limply by her side. The expression on her face told him clearly that not only was she in a great deal of pain, she knew exactly how vulnerable she was.

He stepped behind her again, unable to keep himself from wincing as he saw her bare back. From the small of her back all the way up to her neck, her skin was a mess of scratches, cuts, and bruises. Small bits of rock had worked their way under her skin and he sighed, knowing that they were going to be difficult to work out again.

"What's your name?" she asked suddenly, flinching as he laid a finger across her skin.

"My name?" he repeated, startled.

"Yeah," she said, inhaling sharply as he picked at the small bits of gravel, perhaps not as carefully as he should. "You do have one, don't you?"

"Of course I do."

"What is it?" she asked, sounding almost amused now.

"Andros," he muttered. "Happy now?"

"Andros," she repeated. "That's a cool name... I'm Ashley."

Andros said nothing and simply concentrated on what he was doing, hoping that she would fall silent and let him alone. He should have known that she wouldn't.

"Are you a ranger, too?"

His hands had clenched into fists before he could stop himself. Ashley cried out and he jumped, wincing again as he saw the marks his fingernails had made. An apology formed on the tip of his tongue, but it was gone as quickly as it came and he sighed, reaching for the warm water.

"No," he said evenly, unable to contain the bitterness of his tone. "I'm not a ranger."

"You're not?"

"No," he said. His tone was still even, but forceful enough that he hoped she would abandon the topic.

"Were you a ranger?"

Andros grit his teeth, his hands suddenly trembling. "That," he said, "is none of your business."

"I'm sorry," Ashley said softly, inhaling sharply as Andros began to wash the blood off of her back. "I didn't mean to..."

"Then you shouldn't have said anything," he snapped at her, feeling some measure of satisfaction at the opportunity to finally vent out some of his anger.

"I'm sorry," she said again. Her voice was little more than a whisper now. "I won't say anymore."

It was then that he realized that she'd only been talking to distract herself from the pain. He hadn't even tried to be gentle with her, and he didn't doubt that he'd hurt her. He'd **wanted** to hurt her... so why was he suddenly feeling sick to his stomach?

_You didn't have to hurt her,_ he thought desperately, biting down hard on his lower lip. _She's not Kadri. She doesn't deserve this... _

Andros sighed heavily and tried to finish quickly. As he reached for the bandages, he wondered why his heart was aching so badly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** The Power Rangers aren't mine. The Karovan rangers are.

**Chapter 3**

"Hey."

Ashley glanced up, startled, her face relaxing into a smile as she spotted her best friend. "Hey, Cass."

"How's your shoulder?"

"It's all right," Ashley said, gingerly touching her shoulder with her right hand. Her left arm hung limply in a sling, though it didn't ache as it had the day before.

"Glad to be going home?"

"You could say that," Ashley said wryly, staring out into the blackness of space, dotted here and there with bright stars. "The last few days have been... interesting."

Cassie laughed, just the tiniest hint of bitterness in her tone. "At least it's over now."

"Yeah..." Ashley sighed. "I just got used to it, you know? And now... I don't know what to do without it."

"You'll figure something out," Cassie said with much more confidence than she felt. "We all will."

"Yeah, but..." Ashley hesitated. "It feels kind of weird, putting Earth in the hands of two people not even from Earth."

"They wanted to," Cassie reminded her. "And they're strong, even just the two of them."

"You like them?"

"Yeah," Cassie said after a pause. "Zhane and Karone, anyway."

"And Andros?"

The look on Ashley's face told Cassie everything she needed to know. "Ash, what about Ben?"

"Ben?"

Cassie rolled her eyes. "You know, that one guy? Your boyfriend for the past year?"

"I know who he is," Ashley snapped. "What's he got to do with Andros?"

"You like him, don't you?"

Ashley hesitated. "Okay, maybe he's kinda cute... but as a person, he's... well, he doesn't seem very friendly, does he?"

"No," Cassie agreed. "He doesn't."

"So there's no reason I should like him," Ashley said, her voice not quite firm. "Besides, I... I love Ben."

Cassie didn't miss the hitch in her friend's voice. "Do you really?"

"Yes," Ashley said quickly, too quickly for Cassie's liking. "There's nothing he could ask for that I wouldn't give."

"Ash..." Cassie fixed her with a long look. "That's not love."

"I have to go," Ashley said abruptly, and fled.

* * *

"No."

Zhane rolled his eyes as though Andros was being deliberately difficult. "Andros - "

"No," the other repeated, more forcefully. "I don't want them here."

Karone sighed. "Look, Andros, can you honestly tell me that you think Zyanya wouldn't want her powers passed on? What about Kir? Renn? Zeah?"

"I... No," Andros muttered, wincing at the last name. "But why them?"

"Their powers are gone," Zhane reminded him.

"Which is even more of a reason why we shouldn't trust them," Andros argued. "If they lost their Turbo powers, why should we believe that they won't lose the Astro powers?"

Karone eyed her brother warily. "Andros, Earth needs rangers. We're rangers who have no home to fight for. The least we can do is help them out here."

"Why should we?" Andros snapped. "What have they done for us?"

"Andros, at best, KO-35 was a planet of two thousand. Earth is a planet of five billion. If we don't defend them, there is no one else."

"That's their problem, not ours ," Andros said stubbornly. "They failed."

"As we did?"

Karone's voice was soft, and very sad. The harshness left Andros's eyes at his sister's dejected tone, but he said nothing. His gaze flickering from one to the other, Zhane saw both struggling to maintain their composure.

"Come here," he said softly. He pulled Karone into his arms, holding her close as Andros made a point of staring at the wall opposite them.

"I'm all right," she whispered, though he knew she wasn't.

"We didn't fail them," he insisted, stroking her soft blond hair. "We're still fighting, aren't we?"

"Yeah," she agreed. She smiled then, an incredibly forced smile, but it was better than no smile at all, Zhane figured. He squeezed her once more before releasing her, his blue eyes narrowing at the pain evident in Andros's eyes.

"So that's what this is about."

Andros bowed his head forward, his gaze fixed steadily on his hands. His silence was all the answer Zhane needed, and with a near-growl of frustration, he'd seized his friend by the shoulders, forcing his head up again.

"Andros, listen to me," he said firmly. "Zeah's gone. I know you don't want to accept that, but it's been two years! You can't - "

"This isn't about Zeah," Andros cut in, his face dark. "And I don't want to hear it."

"So this is about Kadri, then?" Zhane's face softened slightly. "Look, Andros, just because one yellow ranger died and the other turned out to be a... er, well - "

"A lying bitch," Karone supplied, her gaze almost amused as she eyed Zhane. "Andros, Kadri and Zeah and these four rangers are six different people. You can't hold onto the Astro morphers just because of what happened to those two."

Andros said nothing, but the look on his face told Karone quite cleary that he knew he'd lost. Sighing heavily, he stood, striding over to the stand where four Astro morphers lay, each secured to a brightly colored bar.

"Fine," he said sullenly, freeing the yellow morpher of its restraints. "But not this one."

"Andros - "

"No, Karone," he said softly. "I'm still the red ranger and I say not this one."

"Well," Zhane said slowly, eyeing Karone as Andros stalked away. "I thought that went rather well, don't you?"

* * *

Ashley glanced up, stiffening as she saw Andros freeze in the doorway to the engine room. The moment their eyes met, Andros looked away, but not before Ashley had caught a glimpse of all the pain lurking just beneath the surface.

"Hi," she said softly, offering him a tentative smile.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"I was just... thinking," she said finally. Though she knew he wouldn't appreciate it, Ashley couldn't help asking, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," he snapped. "And you shouldn't be here."

"And why not?" she snapped back, not caring that he was probably right.

Andros hesitated, not having an answer. "You just shouldn't be," he said finally.

"That's not a reason."

"It should be," he nearly shouted. "This is my ship and you don't belong here."

"Your ship?" Ashley looked at him in surprise. "Zhane and Karone said the Megaship belonged to the Astro rangers."

"It does."

"You told me yesterday that you weren't a ranger."

"I... I'm not," he muttered.

"You were the red ranger, weren't you?" Ashley asked knowingly. Andros glared at her, but at least he didn't look away again.

"Yes," he admitted. "I was."

Almost against her will, Ashley felt her heart aching for him. There was so much pain bubbling up in his hazel eyes, so much hurt... She wondered what had happened, but somehow couldn't bring herself to ask.

"How's your shoulder?" Andros asked abruptly.

"It's fine," she assured him, startled. "I... thanks for wrapping it."

It was Andros's turn to look startled. He stared at her for a moment, frowning. "I... I'm sorry," he blurted out. The fingers of his right hand unclenched and he flung something at her. Ashley caught it instinctively, inhaling sharply when she realized what she was holding. It was the yellow Astro morpher, identical to the purple one worn by Karone.

"Andros, what... "

Ashley glanced up, intending to demand an explanation. Her voice died away as she realized that he was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** Not mine!

_**Mel:** I got your review at the same time I got my update notice thingy. It confused me for a few seconds. Of course Ashley's gonna like Andros more!_

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Yeah, there's a little something left in there. :P_

_**Chylea3784:** Wow, thanks. You can stop reading until ten chapters are up if you want, but that's probably when I'll start using evil cliffies. :P_

_**hmmart:** Thanks. Here's some more._

_**C.C.C:** I love writing hurting Andros so much more than I do writing perfect Andros. He does like Ashley, but he's got no idea what to do with all his feelings, plus he's not into the whole trusting people thing._

_**Jenny:** No, it's okay, you can make predictions. I like it when you guys can figure it out. It just kinda surprised me it only took you two chapters. :P_

_**DizneeDol:** Thanks. Here's more._

_**flowerweasly16:** Glad I made everything clearer in the last chapter. You meet Ben here, so you can decide for yourself how Ash feels about him. _

**Chapter 4**

"We have entered Earth's orbit."

Zhane and Karone exchanged amused glances at the sudden burst of cheering that went up among the four other occupants of the bridge. Some of the laughter left Karone's eyes a moment later as she realized that though they had only been gone a few days, this was still a homecoming for them, the kind of homecoming that the Karovans had been denied for two long years. The slight wavering of Zhane's expression told her that he saw it now too, but neither dared say a word.

"Hey, you guys," Ashley said brightly, waving at them with her recently healed left arm. "You gotta come with us."

"Yeah," Carlos agreed. "Have you ever been to Earth before?"

"Never," Karone said, slightly startled by their enthusiasm.

"Come on, then," Cassie said. "We'll give you a tour."

"Starting somewhere with real food," TJ said with a grin. "There's this new place called the Surf Spot."

"You guys go," Zhane said. "We've got some work to do."

"We'll be there later," Karone assured them, faintly surprised. "Have fun."

"Bye," Ashley said, waving cheerfully.

Karone sat back in her seat as they vanished in four streaks of bright light, eyeing Zhane suspiciously. "Since when do you work?"

His wounded look lost most of its effectiveness when combined with a grin. "We need to contact Kin Won," he said, his serious tone belied by his expression. "He should know we've given out the morphers, and well, I just thought it would be best to do it when they weren't around."

"Yeah..." Karone nodded. "We should."

"We made the right choice," Zhane said, knowing she was frowning though he was staring straight ahead. "And even if we didn't, they aren't perfect, either. After all, we didn't choose the first team."

"You mean we didn't choose Kad - Andros!"

"Hi," he said quietly. "Are they gone?"

"They went down to Earth," Karone said distractedly, fiddling with the comm. "Zhane, do we need to adjust the frequency?"

"Are you contacting Centaur B?"

Andros wasn't quite sure why he asked; there was no one else **to** contact. Still, he couldn't help but feel slightly stung when neither Zhane nor Karone so much as nodded. With a sigh, he sank into his seat, automatically freezing his features into a cold, hard mask.

"Nah, Karone, just leave it," Zhane said, settling back into his seat. "The picture might be a little fuzzy, but it should be fine."

"Deca, open connection with Centaur B."

"Connection established," Deca replied a moment later. The viewing screen faded out of focus for several seconds, and when the picture was restored, instead of the blue green marble of Earth, the three Karovans found themselves staring into a dark room miles beneath the surface of some desolate planet.

"Kin Won," Zhane greeted the old man whose image the viewing screen displayed clearly. "It is good to see you again."

"And you, Zhane," Kin Won replied warmly. "Karone, Andros."

"Kin Won..." Karone spoke up hesitantly. "At Dark Spectre's banquet, we rescued four rangers of Earth."

The old man paused, eyeing the three of them almost in amusement. "I assume you did more than escort them home safely."

"We... er, we gave them the Astro morphers."

Kin Won sighed and took his time replying. Zhane and Karone waited apprehensively as Andros stared sullenly at the console before him, suspecting that the conversation was about to take an unpleasant turn.

"I would like to say you have made a wise decision," he said finally. "If you feel that you have, then I will not argue with you. I will ask you only to remember that the Power responds to all, not just the good."

"We don't need the reminder," Zhane said dryly. He paused, deciding a change of topic was called for. "How is the colony holding up? Do you need anything?"

Kin Won smiled. "We appreciate your concern, but we are fine. Yesterday, two of our ships returned with more supplies. Your parents, Karone, Andros."

"Are they still there?" Karone asked eagerly. "We haven't talked to them in months."

"I'm sorry, they are not." Kin Won paused. "They should be back in a week or two, if you'd care to try again. Your brother was here as well, in fact."

"Kale?" Karone repeated, vague surprise written across her face. "I thought he refused to remain with the colony."

"Yes," Kin Won said, frowning. "He's taken to wandering the galaxy alone, but he reappears every now and then to assure your parents that he is still alive."

"Oh..." Karone paused. "Well, will you tell them all that we miss them, and that someday soon we'll all be together again?"

"I will," Kin Won agreed. "Good luck to you."

"And you," Zhane said.

The transmission was cut by the push of a button. The instant the screen went black, Andros relaxed into his seat, relieved that certain incidents of the past had gone without mention.

"I can't believe we missed Mom and Dad again," Karone complained to Andros, flipping her blond hair out of her eyes. "We haven't talked to them in months."

Andros shrugged noncommitally. "There's always next time."

"Yeah..." Karone sighed. "I'm glad Kale wasn't there, though."

"So am I," Andros agreed, his voice no longer flat and emotionless. Karone arched an eyebrow in surprise at the sudden rush of... something that flooded Andros's voice, but she knew better than to comment.

"Well, unless Zhane has anymore 'work' to do, we promised the others we'd join them on Earth," she told him. "You coming?"

**---**

"Ben!"

Spotting her boyfriend across the crowded restaurant, Ashley made some quick excuses to her friends and hurried across the room, launching herself into her boyfriend's arms with a happy shriek. He caught her well enough, but didn't return the hug. He stepped back and set her down, not so much as greeting her before demanding, "Where were you?"

"I was... out of town," Ashley said lamely, chastising herself for not having thought up an alibi beforehand. "I'm so sorry I didn't call you, but it came up kind of suddenly..."

"Where'd you go?"

"Family visit," she said, knowing that her parents would back her up. It had proven impossible to conceal certain aspects of her life from her parents, and while it had taken some getting used to on their part, Ashley knew that they were behind her and always would be.

"Ashley, I called your house this weekend," Ben said impatiently. "Your parents were there. Where were you?"

"I'm not allowed to go places on my own?" Ashley retorted, not all of her indignation feigned. "Ben, I'm turning seventeen in a month!"

"I know how old you are," Ben snapped, leaning back against the counter as he eyed her suspiciously. "What I don't know is why you're lying to me."

"You think I'm cheating on you, don't you?" Ashley accused him, her brown eyes flashing dangerously with a mixture of hurt and anger. "Ben, I would **never** do that to you. Ever."

"Well, what am I supposed to think when you disappear for three days?" he snapped defensively.

"I'm not allowed to visit my cousin without telling you?"

"Well... yeah," Ben relented, his voice softening some. "But Ashley, you keep disappearing on me."

"I know," Ashley said softly, biting her lip guiltily. "I'm sorry... "

She grinned teasingly. "Let me make it up to you?"

Ben smirked, his arms snaking around her waist in a possessive hold. Ashley melted into the embrace all too easily, tilting her head back as she slipped her arms around his neck. Their lips had just barely touched before Ashley felt his tongue run across her lips, coaxing her mouth open. Ashley gave in to him after a brief second of indecision, but pulled back just a moment later, shaking her head slowly.

"Ben," she gasped, breathing labored from the heated kiss. "Not here."

"Why not?" he challenged, pulling her up against him. "I'm not allowed to show you off?"

"I just... not here," Ashley said firmly, smiling mischievously as she reached up to brush his cheek with her fingers. "But... somewhere else..."

"My parents are spending the week in Malibu," Ben said immediately, trailing his fingers across her neck. "My house?"

"Just lemme say goodbye to my friends, all right?" Ashley said with a grin. Ben followed her as she started across the room, catching her by the arm, pointing without bothering to be discreet.

"Who's the guy with the hair?" he asked, eyeing Andros distastefully. Ashley spent a moment wondering how much work Zhane and Karone could have possibly done in ten minutes and shrugged, deciding it wasn't worth the thought.

Ben's voice was far from quiet, and although Andros kept his eyes cast down, and occasionally on Karone or Zhane, Ashley knew he'd heard. He flushed and she frowned, feeling that she ought to say something, but sighed, knowing that Ben would never listen.

"That's just Andros," she said finally. "That's his sister Karone, and the other one is Zhane. They're... new in town, and the others invited them to have some lunch with us... I'll be right back."

Ashley hurried across the room, nearly bowling over several of her classmates as she did so. "Hey, guys," she said, hovering near the edge of the table. "Ben and I are going to... um, see a movie or something. I'll see you guys later, all right?"

"Yeah, sure, Ash," Carlos said distantly, glaring at Ben over her shoulder.

"I'll see you later, then," Cassie said, shooting her a knowing look. "Have fun."

"Bye, you guys," Ashley said, making no move to leave. She bit her lip in uncertainty, but in the end gave in. "Andros?"

He glanced up at her only for a moment, just long enough for her to catch the full force of his glare. "What?"

"I'm sorry," she said softly, laying a hand on his arm. She'd almost expected him to stiffen, and drew back immediately when he did, studying him for a moment with a truly unreadable expression. Snapping back to reality, she finally began to move away, but unable to push Andros's dark look from her mind for long.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** The Power Rangers aren't mine. Any characters that weren't on the show are mine. (yay!)

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: **Yeah, not fun. Do you know how hard it is to write Ashley with another guy:P_

_**DV2:** Here ya go._

_**C.C.C:** I don't like Ben, either. :P The other rangers don't exactly love him, but they know better than to tell Ashley what to do. _

_**Jenny:** Yes, I know I have too many things going on. I tried, I really did, but it's apparently impossible for me to have only one story at a time. _

_**hmmart:** I agree, Andros was the cutest ranger ever:P_

_**Juzblue:** Glad I got ya hooked. :P _

_**flowerweasly16:** Not many people do like Ben. Hehe..._

**Chapter 5**

Ashley knocked quietly on Ben's door, shivering slightly in the cooling night air. The door was flung open almost immediately, but when she moved to step inside the house, he blocked her way.

"What took you so long?" he demanded, his blue eyes narrowing.

Ashley shrugged. "My parents haven't seen me in a few days, that's all. Dinner took longer than I thought it would... I'm here, aren't I?"

Ben grinned and finally stepped aside, slamming the door shut behind her. "What time do you have to be home by?"

"Whenever I want." The moment the words were out of her mouth, Ashley wondered if that had been the smartest thing she could have said.

"Good," he said, tugging her into the living room. "You still owe me."

Ashley laughed, letting him push her down onto the couch without protest. "The two hours in the movie theater didn't count?"

In answer, Ben pushed her down against the arm of the couch, following her before she had even the chance to arrange herself comfortably. Ashley closed her eyes as his mouth pressed against hers insistently, surrendering completely to the sensation.

Her fingers combed through his short blond curls as he ran his tongue across her lips, working her mouth open. Ashley shifted as he pressed down into her, their bodies so close she could barely breathe. Their fingers laced together as he teased her tongue with his own, pinning her arms to the couch.

Ashley gasped as his mouth left hers abruptly, from lack of oxygen just as much as from the sensations caused by his lips trailing slowly down her neck. Her mind was spinning, she couldn't think past the feel of his lips on her skin, and when he pulled back abruptly, it left her completely disoriented.

"What - " she managed to ask, her head clearing as the seconds ticked by.

Ben tugged at her sweatshirt, and Ashley took the less than subtle hint, quickly shrugging it over her head, and tossing it to the ground. She settled back against the couch and gave his arm a quick tug, pulling him back onto her. Ashley yelped as he kissed her again, her muscles straining against his as she pushed him back up.

"Ow," she complained, rubbing at the sore spot on her neck. "You bit me."

"Yeah," he said, shifting. "Sorry."

He didn't sound it, but Ashley didn't protest as he bent to kiss her again, this time trailing his mouth slowly along the neckline of her top. It was only as he continued to kiss her that Ashley realized how revealing the shirt really was, but she said nothing, unsure of what to do, unsure of what she wanted him to do.

The moment she felt his hands slipping beneath her shirt, Ashley froze, struggling away from him. Ben made a sound in protest, reaching to drag her back to the couch.

"Ashley..."

"Ben..." Ashley stared at him, waiting until her breathing had slowed before slowly saying, "I can't."

"Why not?"

She shrugged helplessly. "I just can't."

"Ashley, we've been together for a year," he reminded her.

"I know," she whispered. "But Ben, I... I'm not ready for this."

"Ashley - "

"I have to go," she said abruptly, already moving towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."

**---**

Andros ducked instinctively, a Quantron's blade whizzing by overhead as he hit the ground, only to be forced back up again. Whirling, he kicked away one Quantron, stumbling as he was hit from behind from another. Caught off guard, he lost his balance completely when forced to dodge another blade.

Nearly collapsing to the ground, Andros rolled, forearms pressed to his face protectively. Leaping back up, he had a split second's warning before throwing himself out of the way once again.

A metal fist came at him from the side. He caught it, twisting away as he threw the Quantron to the ground. The moment his hands were free again, he found himself catching another fist, simultaneously ducking a blade.

Panting, Andros found himself relying completely on instinct, the Quantrons coming at him faster than he had time to think. Time after time, he found himself closer and closer to defeat, but he refused to surrender to his enemy, even if it was only an enemy created by the Simudeck.

A hard kick to the ribs surprised him and he stumbled, one foot catching the other. Unable to slow his fall, Andros went down in a heap, his arms having been somewhere out to the sides. He landed on his stomach, the wind knocked out of him. Cold metal feet bore down on his wrists as he struggled to move, effectively pinning him to the ground. His body tensed, he desperately tried to gasp some air back into his lungs, struggling not to think about the next blow. While the safety on the simulated mosters prevented them from killing him, they were still quite capable of doing some serious damage.

The blow never came; instead, a quiet voice ordered, "Deca, stop simulation."

Andros groaned as the metal monsters disappeared, his forehead resting limply against the ground. Still short of breath, his head spun as he slowly pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, the dizziness nearly enough to knock him off balance once again.

"Breathe," he was ordered. Rather than becoming infuriated at the command, he nodded, suddenly unspeakably grateful for the presence of the person at his side.

"I'm all right," he muttered, flinching away as a gentle hand was laid on his shoulder. "Don't touch me."

"I'm sorry," Ashley said quickly, drawing back her hand. She sat back on her heels, studying him intently. "Andros, what did you think you were doing?"

"I'm not helpless," he snapped angrily, pushing himself back on his heels. "I know how to fight."

"It looked like you were trying to kill yourself," she retorted. "How many Quantrons were in here?"

"One hundred," he admitted reluctantly. The sudden sensation of guilt startled him. He had done nothing wrong, yet at the stunned look upon Ashley's face he felt that he had.

"One hundred?" she repeated dimly. "Andros, it's a miracle you're still alive."

"What are you even doing here?" he demanded, ignoring the ring of truth that accompanied her last statement.

"I live here, remember?"

He flushed, suddenly remembering a similar conversation, one that had ended with him throwing the yellow Astro morpher at her before fleeing from her, two actions that he knew no cause for.

"I didn't mean... Why are you here now?" he asked, admitting, "I thought everyone was asleep."

But for the fact that she was fully dressed, and her brown eyes were clear and alert, Andros would have sworn that Ashley had been asleep as well. Her hair was mussed and her clothes were slightly rumpled.

"I just got back," she said, frowning slightly. Her eyes drifted around the room one or twice before focusing on his own. "Is that what you do? You wait until everyone falls asleep and then you come here?"

Andros found himself nodding. "Sometimes."

"Why does it have to be secret?"

"It doesn't," he muttered, his heart beginning to crave the sweet sound of her voice.

_No,_ he told himself sternly. _No. Not her. Not again._

"But it is," Ashley pointed out. "Or else you'd use this place during the day."

"I..." Andros looked away, frightened by the caring he spotted in her eyes. "I didn't want to be interrupted."

"You're bleeding," Ashley said suddenly, gesturing at his hands with her own, though she didn't try to touch him.

"Oh."

Andros stared down at his hands, bruised, red, and bleeding in spots where the skin had broken. His vision spun as he did so, and he shook his head, feeling for the first time how the damp strands of his hair stuck to his skin, damp with sweat. The rest of his body was just as sweat-soaked, nearly to the point where it would have appeared that he'd stood under a shower fully dressed.

"I should go now," he muttered, standing slowly, afraid of upsetting his balance. Ashley stood as well, her voice following him as he moved from the Simudeck.

"Andros..." She paused, waiting until he had turned towards her before speaking. "If you'd ever want me to, I'll train with you."

"I don't want you to," he mumbled automatically, not even giving her words time to sink in. "Good night, Ashley."

Turning, he left before she had the chance to speak another word.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: **I'm not entirely sure myself what I'm going to put them through next, just bits and pieces._

_**Juzblue:** Here's some more._

_**TrueRomantic:** Good nickname. :D I'm not sure when I'll break them up, but it shouldn't be too long, don't worry. _

_**C.C.C:** I really don't know when I'll break up Ashley and Ben, but it shouldn't be too long. I just need some other stuff to happen first, but they can't be together for too much longer because it's just too hard to write Ashley with someone else besides Andros. :P_

_**DizneeDol:** Here's some more._

_**Jenny:** Sorry I confused you. :P My crazy mind is already working on what will happen with Ben and Ashley. I think I've decided, but I'm not quite sure._

_**Mel:** You're thinking of my other story. Oh... you figured that out. :P Fine, you can have Ben. That means Marieke and I only have to share Andros two ways. :D_

**Chapter 6**

"Morning." Ashley breezed into the glider bay early the next morning, her cheery greeting falling on only one set of ears.

"Oh, um, good morning." Andros appeared slightly startled by her enthusiasm, but he returned the greeting, if somewhat timidly.

"You're up early," she commented while ordering her breakfast from the Synthetron. "Haven't you heard of sleeping in on Saturday?"

"You're up early," he pointed out. "Why shouldn't I be?"

"Yeah, but I have to go somewhere today," she said, taking a quick peek at his hands as she slipped onto the stool across from him. The skin that had been cut and bruised only hours before was now smooth and unblemished, as if the injuries had never occured.

"Family thing," she continued, not wanting to be caught staring. "My aunt and cousins are moving from LA to San Fransisco, but they're visiting us for the weekend before driving up north."

Andros merely nodded and Ashley sighed, knowing she had to be boring him. From what she knew of him, Andros wasn't one to make small talk or chatter pointlessly. She fell silent, only to glance up in surprise a moment later when Andros broke the quiet.

"Your family is large?"

"No, not really," she answered, taken aback that Andros was even interested. "I've only got one set of grandparents still alive, and my parents, brother, aunt, and two cousins."

"Are you... close?"

"Pretty close," she said, faintly surprised at his intent tone. "I hardly ever see my grandparents, but I talk to them on the phone often, I guess. My parents and Jeff, my brother, we're all close."

"Your brother," Andros said. "What's he like?"

"He's older than me," she said. "Almost twenty. We hated each other when we were little, but now... he's more overprotective than my dad is."

"Is this..." Andros searched for the right word. "Is this considered normal?"

"Well, yeah, I guess," Ashley said, frowning slightly. "But there really isn't a normal. Some people have really close, huge families all living in the same house or neighborhood. Some people have huge families that can't stand each other. Other people have smaller familes, just one or two people. Different people have different normals, Andros."

He nodded once more before turning his attention back to the half-eaten plate in front of him. Ashley watched him, wondering how he would react if she questioned him about his own family. She hesitated, not certain that he would be comfortable speaking to her about something she suspected he considered very private, but after a moment of indecision, curiosity won out.

"What about you? Your family?"

Midway through raising his fork up to his mouth, Andros froze. Carefully returning the utensil to his plate, he considered the question, answering willingly enough despite a long moment of silence.

"I haven't seen my parents since KO-35 was evacuated," he said finally. "They live with the rebels on Centaur B now, but they're hardly ever there. They're always off on some mission or another. Karone and I haven't talked to them in almost a year."

His tone was very even, very calm, and his voice didn't waver in the least, but behind the mask Andros wore nearly his every waking moment lay the deep hurt caused by his sudden, long separation from his parents.

"I'm sorry," Ashley said quietly. Her hand twitched, but then she remembered his reaction the previous night when she'd gone to lay a hand on his shoulder and caught herself just in time. This was a side of Andros she hadn't seen, and she didn't want to frighten it away.

"You don't have to be," he told her, shrugging with feigned nonchalance. "There's nothing you can do about it."

"I'm sorry you're hurting, then," she said. "You were close to them, weren't you?"

"When Karone and I were younger, we were all close," he said slowly. "But the Karovan rangers were chosen as children, and Kale... he wanted the red morpher."

"Kale?" Ashley repeated quietly, hoping he would continue, but somehow sensing that this was a subject he wasn't going to discuss.

"My brother," Andros told her. "He was older than Karone and I were, and when he wasn't chosen as a ranger, he resented me for it. My parents didn't want to choose between their children and it became uncomfortable for everyone."

Ashley nodded, knowing there was much he had chosen to keep to himself. She could do nothing but respect his silence, though she couldn't keep herself from attempting to read between the lines of the little that he had told her.

"What happened to Kale?" she asked. "Is he with your parents?"

Andros shook his head. "I think he prefers to be alone. He'll show up on Centaur B every once in a while to visit my parents, but he has no friends there, no bondmate."

"Bondmate?"

Andros looked startled that she didn't understand the term, and it seemed to be difficult for him to come up with an explanation. "Your bondmate is your lover," he said finally. "I don't think there are bondmates here on Earth."

"There are lovers on Earth," she said, amused.

"There are," Andros agreed. "But your bondmate is more than your lover."

He paused, struggling to find the right words. "I don't know more than that," he admitted. "I... don't have a bondmate, and I'd rather not know the details of my sister's relationship with Zhane."

His lips quirked up into a half-smile, but he was far from amused. Eyes dark and heavy, Andros looked as though he wanted nothing more than to curl up and cry. Ashley watched him with a sigh, her heart aching just to hug him even once, anything to wipe that grief and sorrow off of his face.

"You miss them so much, don't you?" she said softly. "Your family, I mean."

Andros considered for a moment and slowly shook his head. "Compared to how much I miss some others, I miss my parents very little."

It was then that he appeared to realize how much he'd spoken. Shrugging at her almost in embarrassement, Andros turned his attention back to his food, concentrating on the cold remains of his breakfast far more than he should have.

Ashley watched him for a moment, and from the way his body repeatedly tensed abruptly she thought he could almost feel her eyes on him. She knew how uncomfortable he was becoming, yet she couldn't tear her eyes away from him. She was suddenly bursting with questions, simply wanting to know who Andros was beneath the exterior he had so carefully hidden himself behind.

"You are a strange person, Andros," she said aloud, wincing slightly as the words left her mouth. He glanced up at her and she hurried to apologize. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean - "

"It's all right," Andros interrupted, his tone still deceptively calm. "I know I look different than most Terrans do..."

"No," Ashley said firmly. "That's not what I meant."

"Oh." Andros paused. "What did you mean, then?"

"Just that... you seem to be two people sometimes," she said, uncertain over her choice of words, but Andros didn't look offended, so she took a chance and continued. "Half the time, it seems like you hate us. It seems like you hate me, anyway, but other times, like now... you act like you're really a person, like you actually have a heart, like you actually feel."

Andros remained silent for a long time, studying her face thoughtfully. "I don't hate you," he said finally. "You reminded me of someone who I do hate. It wasn't fair of me to treat you as if you were her."

Taken aback by the near-apology, Ashley stared at him. "And the rest of the time?"

Andros let out a long breath. "You remind me of someone else."

He wouldn't say another word, but the sudden intense anguish in his eyes told Ashley all she needed to know. She stood slowly, dumping the food she had barely touched back into the Synthetron.

"I'd better go now," she said quietly. Andros nodded and she hesitated. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," he said stiffly.

He was a poor liar, but Ashley could see how desperately he wanted to be left alone. "I'll see you later, then," she said, heading toward the door. "Bye."

Andros didn't reply, but it was no less than she'd expected. With a sigh, Ashley tapped at her communicator, vanishing from the Megaship in a stream of yellow light.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** Power Rangers isn't mine, but I made up the Karovan rangers, Cosmos, and Lyra.

_**TrueRomantic:** Most of Andros's issues are pretty huge, and he's going to need Ashley's help getting through them. BB won't be around for very much longer, I hope._

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** I seem to have become very inspired about this story, so updates should be pretty regular... Andros doesn't need to know what Zhane and Karone do. He and Ashley can experiment on their own. :P_

_**DV2:** Here ya go._

_**Jessica01:** He's a lot easier to understand in your stories, actually. :P I like writing mysterious Andros, though._

_**flowerweasly16:** Now that he's had a human conversation with Ashley, let's have him have another human conversation..._

_**C.C.C:** For the most part, this won't be an action-heavy story, but there's a fight in this chapter. Most of the action will come at the end of Part 1 and in Parts 2 and 3._

_**hmmart:** I'll update this story pretty often, I seem to have become very inspired with it._

**Chapter 7**

"Hey."

Andros sighed heavily, realizing that he was never going to finish his breakfast in peace. Ashley had finally gone, but now the pink and black rangers entered the hangar bay, tossing him a greeting without breaking their conversation.

"Hi," he offered, glaring down at his food.

"What's up?"

It took Andros a moment to realize that Cassie was addressing him. Having dealt with enough questions for one morning, his temper flared for a moment, and he caught himself just in time.

"Nothing."

She shrugged, apparently accepting that he wasn't in the mood to talk and turned her attention back to Carlos.

"Are you sure you don't want to go?"

"Sure I don't want to go the mall with you?" Carlos very nearly winced. "It's a miracle you got TJ to go."

Cassie shrugged with a grin. "Karone asked me what I did for fun."

"Girls." Carlos made a face at her. "You know Ash will kill you when she finds out you went shopping without her."

Cassie shrugged once again, but her grin was now gone. "She's probably out with Ben..."

Andros looked up. "She's with her family."

"Her family?" Carlos repeated. "You sure?"

Andros shrugged. "When she came in for breakfast, she said she was going to visit her family."

Cassie sighed, and it seemed to Andros to be a sigh of relief. "At least she's not out with Ben."

Carlos nodded his agreement, his dark eyes troubled. "It'd be better if she was," he said. "He'll lay on the guilt for her not being with him today."

"I know." Cassie sighed. "And she'll let him."

Andros hesitated in the silence that fell, fairly certain that it wasn't his place to add anything to this conversation, but as they felt comfortable discussing the subject with him feet away, he asked, "You do not like Ben?"

Both rangers looked startled that he had been listening, but neither seemed more upset than they had been previously.

"No," Cassie said bluntly. "Ashley's like my sister, and she deserves someone so much better than Ben. Someone who cares about her, for a start."

"He doesn't care for her?"

With a shake of his head, Carlos told him, "He couldn't care less about Ashley. Once he gets what he wants from her, he'll just forget about her."

"What does he want from her?"

Carlos gave him a surprised look. "He wants her."

"Oh."

The look on his face must have revealed more than it should have, for a moment later, Cassie was asking, "Is that a pretty big deal where you come from? Sex before marriage?"

"No." Andros shook his head. "But it was considered wrong to sleep with someone you didn't love."

"Why?"

He sighed, briefly wondering how so many questions could be thrown at him in the space of half an hour. "Most Karovans share a telepathic link with one another," he explained. "Some share empathic links as well. When two people become lovers, those bonds grew stronger, no matter if they loved each other or not."

"Oh, I get it," Cassie exclaimed softly. "So if you slept with someone just to have sex, you'd just be bonding yourself to someone you didn't love."

Andros nodded. "Yes."

He was saved from Cassie's next question when the alarm shrilled, startling the three of them.

"What is it, Deca?" Andros demanded, gripping the edge of the table to keep from jumping up.

"Lyra is attacking Angel Grove with several Quantrons," came the calm reply. "TJ, Zhane, and Karone are now awake, and Alpha has contacted Ashley."

"Thanks, Deca," he said softly. "You'd better go," he added, now addressing Cassie and Carlos.

"Let's rocket!" they shouted in unison, vanishing from the Megaship even as their suits solidified around them. Andros watched them go with a heavy heart.

"Deca, teleport me to the bridge," he ordered softly. Before the words were even fully out of his mouth, his vision was obscured by red light.

**---**

_I should be down there,_ Andros thought bitterly, his fingernails digging small, crescent-shaped grooves into the padded arms of his seat. _They need me._

He wasn't entirely sure of the truth of the last statement, but as he watched the fight, it was clear that they needed some help. He grit his teeth as Lyra threw Cassie back several feet as though she were a rag doll, every instinct in his body screaming at him to aid them.

The instant Cassie hit the ground, Ashley was at her side, pulling her to her feet and guarding her as she recovered. Andros watched the two of them with an aching heart, for a few moments seeing Zyanya and Zeah in their places. The two of them had been sisters, and it had only been that morning that Cassie had told him that Ashley was as good as her sister.

"Red ranger," Lyra taunted the air. "Come fight me."

Andros was halfway out of his seat before he caught himself. She would have known he'd watch the fight, and he didn't doubt she knew how completely helpless he felt at this moment. Half-standing, he froze, biting his lip hard enough to draw blood. With a choked sigh, Andros slowly sank back down into his seat, watching Zhane fly at their enemy with a rage his friend rarely displayed.

Though Andros would have expected Lyra to remember the fierce protectiveness the Karovan rangers had displayed towards one another, she seemed unprepared as Karone attacked from her other side, the air whistling loudly as her staff flew threw the air. Seconds later, TJ and Carlos had joined in the fray, slowly forcing Lyra back.

Lyra's surprise left Ashley and Cassie free to finish off the remaining Quantrons, which they managed in a matter of minutes. Andros's mind drifted back to the night before, and he was forced to admit, if only to himself, that the two of them were certainly holding their own much better than he had against the simulated monsters.

_There's two of them,_ his pride protested. _And less Quantrons._

Andros sighed. "Deca, can you get a clear target on Lyra with the Megalasers?"

"Affirmative," she replied a moment later. Andros opened his mouth to give the order to fire, but Deca was speaking again. "But firing the Megalasers would risk serious damage to the other rangers, as well as any civilians that may be in the area."

"Never mind, then," he muttered. "I just thought..."

"You just thought you could help them," Deca said, completing the statement for him. "It is understandable for someone in your position to feel helpless or - "

"Deca," he cut in. "Be quiet."

He didn't care what it was 'understandable' for him to feel. He didn't care what he should be feeling or why, and he wondered when Deca had taken in upon herself to become the Megaship's resident psychiatrist.

The flash of light on the viewing screen distracted his thoughts, and he turned his attention back to the battle. Though he felt some measure of satisfaction as Lyra vanished amid a volley of laser fire and golden sparkles, he felt cheated somehow, as though the victory, no matter how small, should have been his.

The rangers vanished from his sight just as voices reached his ears, drifting through the halls from somewhere behind him. Letting out a long breath, he quickly forced his expression as blank as he could make it.

"Whoo!" Carlos yelled as they swarmed onto the bridge, laughing and chattering, as though they had come from a party, not a life-or-death battle. "Another one for us!"

Ashley laughed at his exuberance. "Nice job, you guys, but I'd better get back... Deca, can you teleport me out of here?"

The noise didn't diminish with the departure of the yellow ranger, if anything, it seemed to swell. Andros stood back, hovering near the edge of the circle the rangers had formed, his head spinning as he tried to follow their many conversations, tempted just to slip away. Someone finally took notice of him then, just as he was moving away, intending to vanish down the hall.

"Hey," TJ said, clapping his back lightly. "You all right, man?"

"I'm fine," Andros said quietly, finding it a great test of will to force his body not to recoil. TJ watched him skeptically, but shrugged. As the blue ranger turned his attention back to his friends, Andros managed to escape, leaving without a backward glance. As he moved down the corridor, the cheery noise and laughter of the bridge was slowly replaced by a lonely silence.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, never was, never will be.

_**TrueRomantic: **BB might stick around a little longer than I'd planned, but he won't be in most of the chapters. You'll find out why Andros doesn't morph anymore in hopefully three or four more chapters, but I'm not sure when I'll work in the rest of it._

_**Funky In Fishnet: **I love writing them all this way, so I guess it shows. :P I loved Unbreakable, you should write more Space fics. _

_**hmmart:** Here's another chapter..._

_**C.C.C:** Cosmos and Lyra are in the same position Astronema was in the canon PRIS, and aside from that, they both are directly responsible for a lot of Andros being who he is, and they will keep being important for the rest of the series._

_**DV2:** Thanks, here's more._

_**Jenny:** Yeah, Karone is the purple ranger. I thought I mentioned that somewhere... oops. :P Zeah and Zyanya were the yellow and pink Karovan rangers. I'm not saying anything about Kadri yet. :P_

_**Mel:** You can have Ben once Ashley breaks up with him. :P Lyra challenged him for a reason, and you find out about that later._

**Chapter 8**

"Hey, Andros."

"Hi, Ashley."

He didn't glance up as she slipped into the seat at his right, but then, she hadn't expected him to. It was enough that he'd returned the greeting, and civilly. Ashley watched him out of the corner of her eye for a moment or two, before sighing silently.

"Sorry I'm a little late," she added as an afterthought. "I was out with Ben..."

"It's all right," Andros said quietly, his gaze never leaving the console directly before him. "Next time be on time."

Ashley nodded. "Anything happen in the last ten minutes?"

"No."

"Oh." Ashley paused. "That's good."

Andros nodded briefly, his head bobbing up and then down, but he didn't speak. The awkward silence bore down heavily on Ashley and she sighed loudly, unable to think of anything to say that could possibly interest him. She had many questions, but doubted very much that they would receive answers.

"Where's everyone else?" she finally asked, unable to stand the quiet any longer.

Andros shrugged. "Deca?"

"Cassie and Karone are at the mall and Carlos is at his home," Deca replied, her tone distinctly amused as she added, "TJ and Zhane have detention."

"How'd he managed **that**?" Ashley demanded of no one in particular. "He doesn't even go to the school!"

"Zhane has a special talent for causing chaos," Andros informed her, his mouth quirking.

Ashley laughed. "I never would have guessed."

"Oh, he does," he assured her, completely missing her tone. "But because he had been chosen to be a ranger, he was never punished."

Ashley grinned. "Must have been nice, getting away with everything."

"Zhane was the only one who could manage it," Andros said, the look on his face stating clearly that he was still miffed about the fact. "The rest of us couldn't talk our way out of everything the way he could."

"You and Karone, you mean?" Ashley asked, deliberately keeping her tone light, casually adding, "Or were there more of you?"

"There were more of us," Andros said quietly after a small but very noticeable pause.

"Yellow, pink, blue, black, silver, purple, and red?"

He nodded. "Yes."

Ashley bit her lip to keep herself from blurting out a question she knew he wouldn't like. Andros chose that moment to glance over at her. He caught her expression and turned away from her, sighing.

"You want to know what happened."

It wasn't a question, but Ashley nodded just the same. "Yeah. I do."

"I don't want to talk about it," he said firmly, though his expression was uncertain.

"I'm not asking you to," she said quickly. "I was just curious, that's all."

"I think Zhane and Karone would tell you, if you asked them."

Ashley regarded him thoughtfully for a moment. "But you'd rather I didn't."

Andros nodded wordlessly.

"I won't ask them, then," she decided. "If it bothers you that much."

He turned to her then, his surprise evident in his eyes. "You have no reason to care what I feel," he said slowly. "If they will tell you, I wouldn't try to stop them."

"That's not the point," she told him, catching his eye for one of the first times. "It's not only that I want to know what happened to KO-35. I want to hear it from you."

"Why?"

"Because..." Ashley hesitated, taking her time as she thought up the right words. "Because I could ask Zhane and Karone what happened on KO-35, but they wouldn't be able to tell me why you sneak onto the Simudeck at night. They wouldn't be able to tell me why you think about that last battle most hours of the day. They don't know that you do, do they?"

"No," he admitted, visibly shaken, though his voice was cold when he continued. "And it's none of your business, either."

"I know." Ashley sighed, his torn expression sending waves of guilt through her. "I'm sorry if I seem nosy, it's just... I like to know who I'm friends with."

Andros finally turned to face her completely, clearly startled. "Is that what we are?"

"Friends? Why not?"

"But..." He stared at her face blankly for a long minute. "We don't know each other."

Ashley shrugged. "We can fix that."

"I..." Andros appeared both perplexed and indecisive, although when he finally spoke, his voice was firm. "I can't be friends with you."

"Can't be friends with me?" Ashley fixed him with a knowing look. "Or can't be friends with anybody?"

"I..." Andros glared at her. "Don't do that."

"Do what?" she asked quietly. "Stop telling you what you're thinking?"

He nodded. "Please," he whispered. "Please stop."

"I'm sorry," she said softly, taken aback by the pleading desperation of his voice. "I didn't know I was bothering you that much."

"Well, you were," he said harshly. "You are."

"I'm sorry," Ashley repeated slowly, waiting until the wild and scared look at left his eyes before opening her mouth again. "Do you want me to go?"

"You're the ranger," he snapped. "You're the one with watch duty."

Ashley sighed silently and swiveled her chair to face the front once again. The Andros she had caught a glimpse of these last few days was gone now, replaced once again by the cold, imposing figure she'd met her first day on the Megaship.

_I shouldn't have pushed him,_ she thought glumly, catching his glare out of the corner of her eye. _I didn't mean to scare him away..._

Settling back into her seat, Ashley watched the blank scanner with one eye and Andros fidgeting with the other. He was fiddling absently with the controls directly before him, which just happened to be the the vertical thrusters and the accelerator. Ashley let the Megaship bob up and down for several minutes on end, but when the ship was suddenly jolted forward, she'd had enough.

"Will you stop that?" she exclaimed, hit with a new wave of guilt as he jumped. "Andros, I can't help thinking that you're trying to kill me here."

Andros froze, his hands stilling on the controls. "Is this better?" he asked tonelessly, his face expressionless.

"Much," she said, eyeing him warily. Her face softened a moment later, and she sighed, catching herself just as she reached out to him. "Hey, I didn't mean to startle you... I just didn't want you to crash us."

"I understand," he distantly, his hands sliding down from the control panel to his lap. His head bowed, giving almost the impression that he was praying.

"What did I say?"

"What?"

"I know I said something wrong," she explained patiently. "What was it?"

"Nothing," he insisted, not facing her. "You didn't say anything that you shouldn't have."

"Maybe not," she agreed. "But Andros, it bothered you."

"And why should you care?" he challenged. Ashley could practically see him bristling defensively. "It's not as if you care about me."

"Maybe I do," she retorted. "Just because I don't know you as well as Zhane and Karone do doesn't mean I don't care about you."

"You have no reason to care," he insisted.

"That doesn't mean I don't." Ashley sighed. "Andros..."

"Don't," he snapped. "I don't want your pity, and I don't need your friendship. You wouldn't care if - "

He froze, wincing, and Ashley was certain she heard him groan, quiet as it was. It was obvious that Andros had said more than he'd meant to, and now, though his expression dared her to ask, his hazel eyes were so full of anguish and sorrow she couldn't bring herself to.

"Maybe I'd better go," she said quietly.

"You should go," Andros agreed, slowly tearing his gaze from hers. "Please go."

"I'll see you later," Ashley said just as softly, standing slowly. "And Andros? If you ever change your mind... come talk to me."

"Just go," he said loudly, the pain doubling as she walked away.

_It wasn't my fault, _he protested weakly, though he knew it was. Her ability to read him so easily, so... naturally had frightened him, but what was worse, he found himself aching for the friendship he'd so quickly refused.

_I had to,_ he told himself firmly. _I couldn't let her. It would end just like it did before._

"Incoming transmission," Deca reported, the red eye that had watched him and Ashley solemnly suddenly flickering.

"Display it," he ordered, his voice betraying no trace of the inner turmoil his heart grappled with.

"Andros?"

He froze, feeling as though his brain actually ceased to function for a split second or two as his eyes focused on the couple staring back at him.

"Mom?" he whispered, his breath hitching. "Dad?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** Andros's parents are mine! The rest is not.

_**TrueRomantic:** Nope, he can't make it easy for her, but in this story, there's a reason for it besides Andros just being antisocial._

_**Funky in Fishnet:** He'll loosen up, but it's going to take him a **long** time._

_**C.C.C:** Sorry I made you wait again. Stupid real life. Grr... It won't be too long before Andros goes to Ashley._

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** I can't kill Ben, sorry. I need him again later. Andros can't make him unable to reproduce for the same reason. :P But when I'm done with him... And he knows Zhane and Karone are sleeping together. He'd just rather not know any more than that. :D_

_**Jessica01:** Yup, his parents are alive this time. I'll check out your story when it's up, I love it when we get to meet their parents._

_**Jenny:** I did write! It just took me kind of a long time. :P_

_**DV2:** Here's more, sorry I made you wait._

_**DizneeDol:** Not quite ASAP, but here's more._

_**Mel:** He doesn't hate her exactly. It's kinda complicated. :P _

**Chapter 9**

"Andros!" Adya's face broke into a bright, beaming smile as her eyes settled on her son.

"Hi, Mom," Andros managed weakly, a genuine smile on his face for the first time in months. "Dad. I... you're not on Centaur B, are you?"

If he could have, he would have laughed at himself for that last remark. It had been ten months since he had heard his mother's voice, and **that** was all he could think to say?

Kieran laughed quietly, his eyes sparking at his son. "No, Andros, we're not on Centaur B."

"Another mission?" he guessed.

Adya shook her head, smiling secretively. "Kin Won ordered us to take a vacation. He said we'd been away from our children long enough."

"But..." Andros started, then stopped, running his mother's words through his head another time. "Do you mean... that you're coming here?"

Adya nodded, her hazel eyes misting over. "According to this, we'll arrive in the Sol system ten minutes after our next hyperspace jump."

"When's that?" Andros was gripping the edge of his seat, struggling to maintain his composure. "Soon?"

"Now," Kieran informed him. "We'll see you soon, son."

The viewing screen faded to black as Adya and Keiran entered hyperspace. Andros simply stared at the blank screen, the last minute replaying itself as though it were a dream. The small blip on the edge of the radar screen convinced him that had in fact been real, and Andros shook himself out of his stupor, unable to keep himself from grinning.

"Deca?" He swiveled around to glance at one of her many eyes. "Where did you say Karone was, again?"

**---**

"Mom! Dad!"

Karone flung herself into her parents arms with a shriek, her arms wrapping themselves around their necks and refusing to unwind once again. On his mother's other side, Andros laughed - truly laughed - for the first time in nearly a year and a half at his sister's euphoria, although he wouldn't have denied he was feeling much the same way.

"Karone," Adya whispered. "Oh, we've missed both of you so much."

"We've missed you too." Letting out a long breath to hide her sniffles, Karone brushed impatiently at her watery blue eyes. "But you're here now."

"Yes," Adya agreed. "We're here."

"How long can you stay?" Karone's tone grew decidedly dejected as she thought of them leaving once again, but she knew that as they were, her parents were also needed.

"A few months," Kieran said, stroking his daughter's hair gently. "Kin Won said to stay until we were needed."

"You always are," she said with a sad smile. "But it's all right."

"And you are needed too," Adya said, carefully disentangling herself from a many-armed hug. "I've never been prouder of you... both of you."

The last was added along with a sharp, pointed glance at her son. Andros sighed inaudibly, his shoulders slumping visibly even as he forced a smile. When Adya rolled her eyes at the ceiling, he knew he hadn't fooled her.

"We're not alone anymore," Karone was saying, her arms still around her parents.

"Kin Won told us," Kieran said, nodding. "Are they here?"

"Not yet," she said. "But this is the best team we've ever had, and you'll love them."

Andros kept quiet as some of his happiness ebbed away. He knew how Karone had meant the words, but something inside of him cried out, wounded, knowing that the rangers were better off without him on their team.

_What's** wrong** with you?_ he wondered, growing disgusted with himself. _This is the first time you've been in the same room with your parents in two years, and all you can think about is yourself! How can you be so selfish?_

"Andros?"

His mother's voice slowly penetrated his thoughts and he jerked himself back into reality, forcing another smile. The look he received in return promised a long talk sometime in the near future, and he sighed, his smile now more rueful than anything else.

"I'm fine," he assured her quietly.

Adya raised an eyebrow skeptically, but chose not to comment. "When do we meet these rangers?" she asked instead, turning her attention to Karone, though she kept one eye on Andros.

"Umm... sometime soon, I guess," Karone answered. "They'll be back soon... But you still haven't told us how you've been!"

"We've been all right," Adya assured her. "We've spent most of the past year away from Centaur B."

"We know," Karone said wryly. "The last twenty times we've called, you haven't been there... What kinds of missions are they?"

"Mostly for supplies," Kieran said, his eyes darkening. "And others... well, we just need to be sure that Dark Spectre doesn't know where we are."

"Spying?"

Adya nodded. "I hate it, but it's necessary, and there's no one else that can."

"We know," Karone said with a sigh. "But we're glad that you do it."

Adya smiled wanly. "How long has it been since you've talked to Kale?"

Karone's smile slipped. "Two years."

Andros nodded at his father's questioning look. He took a step back, as if the small distance would allow him to escape this next conversation.

"He was on Centaur B about a month ago," Kieran told them, not noticing the sudden unease of his two other children, or if he had noticed, he chose to ignore it. "He's changed."

"Changed how?" Karone asked, quietly laying a hand on her brother's arm. For once, Andros didn't flinch away from human touch and squeezed her fingers gratefully.

"He's quieter now," Adya said thoughtfully. "Less dramatic. Less... angry. Wandering around for so long has done him some good. He even mentioned something about a girl..."

"Kale has a girlfriend?" Karone asked increduosly. "He **has** changed."

"From the way he talked about her, I wouldn't be surprised if she was his bondmate," Kieran said with a smile. "You should talk to him for yourselves. I'm sure he would love to hear from you."

Karone winced as Andros nearly broke her fingers. "We'll try to contact him again soon," she promised her parents. Carefully, she worked her hand loose, flexing her fingers to be sure everything still worked. "I think he likes being alone, though."

"Well, yes," Adya admitted. "But he's still your brother, and the five of us haven't been all been together for two years. You should at least try while we're here. Maybe we can all be together again, at least for a little while."

"All right," Karone agreed with a smile. "I'll try later on tonight... but even if we can't find Kale, it's enough that the four of us are together, right? At least for now?"

Kieran nodded his agreement, smiling down proudly at his daughter. "You're still hopeful, Karone."

"You sound surprised," Andros said wryly, able to laugh a little at his words. Karone stuck her tongue out at him and he grinned, mimicking the gesture, his heart lightening suddenly.

"You're seventeen," Adya rebuked mildly, though she was laughing as well. "Why must you insist on acting like five-year-olds?"

"Because it's fun?" Karone suggested innocently.

"Because you spend too much time with Zhane," Andros retorted, quickly putting some distance between himself and his twin sister's fists. "He hasn't changed in years."

"Like you would know." Karone grinned, laughing at the face Andros made. "You spend too much time alone for your own good."

Kieran shook his head, laying a hand across his son's shoulder. "Some things never change."

"Yeah," Andros agreed, his thoughts putting some distance between himself and reality once again. "But some do."


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

_**TrueRomantic:** Well, Andros's mom meets one of the rangers here..._

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Yay, you killed your brain! Now you can write more. :P Oh, and remind me to ask for your help with something before I forget again. :P_

_**C.C.C:** Andros's mom meets Ashley here... If you think you know why Andros doesn't morph, you can guess. I wanna see if anyone can figure it out. :P_

_**Juzblue: **I love them too... Giving Andros nice parents is way more fun that I thought it would be. :P_

_**Jessica01:** Cool, we get to meet Andros's parents._

_**Jenny:** I decided to see what would happen if I made his parents nice people for once. :D And people talk a little about Kadri and Zeah in this chapter. You'll find out a whole lot in about three or four chapters, I've got it all planned out. Sorta._

_**Mel:** I wondered where you went. :P How'd guessing the password go? I think I only updated once, but I don't even remember anymore._

_**DV2:** Here's more. While I have to admit I seriously considered it, no, Kale is not Ben._

_**sky's girl forever:** I loved Karone so much, but I loved seeing Andros depressed and needing Ashley to make him feel better too, so I guess it was all good. :P Here's more._

_**hmmart:** Yup, Andros's parents hang around for awhile._

_**Funky in Fishnet: **There's a meeting in this chapter. _

_**flowerweasly16:** Yeah, he's more human now, isn't he?_

**Chapter10**

"Karone, you and your father could use some time alone to catch up," Adya said decisively, shooting another sharp look at her son. "I want to talk to your brother."

"All right," Karone agreed, taken aback by the seriousness of her mother's tone.

"Come on, Andros," Adya said, her hand appearing on his shoulder, prodding him forward.

"Mom, I'm fine," he insisted automatically as they left the bridge behind.

Adya raised an eyebrow. "That's the one word I would** not** choose to describe you, Andros."

He sighed and fell silent, unable to think of a reply.

"You've changed too much since I've last seen you," she said, her hand still on his shoulder. "I want to know what's bothering you."

"Mom, I haven't seen you for two years," Andros protested quietly as his mother pushed him through the doors onto the Observatory. "There are more important things we could talk about."

"But not that we **need** to talk about," Adya retorted, motioning for him to sit. "I've been hearing rumors for the last two years. I want the truth, Andros, from you. What really happened?"

Andros let out a long breath, his slouching even more prominent as he sighed. Focusing his attention carefully on the carpeted floor, he sank down onto the couch beside his mother as he mumbled, "Kadri was Dark Spectre's spy."

Adya nodded sympathetically. "We'd all figured on that. Was she the only one?"

"We weren't able to find another," he said. "If there was another, we never caught them... Mom, please, I don't - "

"Andros, you can't keep this inside forever," Adya argued with a sigh. "Do you just need more time?"

Head down, Andros nodded. "When I am... ready, I'll come to you and Dad first."

"I'll hold you to that," she said finally. "And Zeah?"

Andros shook his head slowly, finding it all he could do to keep himself from wincing at the name. The sudden pain brought on by the mere mention of her name had never been this intense before. He swallowed hard, but was nearly forced to yeild to the emotional onslaught.

"You're allowed to cry, you know," Adya commented as she studied her son critically. "No one doubts your strength."

"I don't - "

Andros closed his mouth abruptly as the doors slid open, somehow not at all surprised to see who it was that practically skipped into the room.

"Hey, Andros."

Ashley greeted him brightly as always, her brown hair bouncing against her shoulders lightly as she stepped onto the Observatory. Her gaze fell on his mother, and she glanced at him curiously, though she did not ask.

"Ashley, this is my mother," he said, suppressing a sigh. "Mom, this is Ashley, the yellow ranger. She's from Earth."

"Yellow," Adya mused to herself. She shot another look at her son, but Andros had busied himself staring at his boots.

"It's nice to meet you," Ashley offered, extending her hand to the older woman. Adya shook it without hesitation, smiling warmly at the girl.

"And you," she agreed, tucking errant blond strands behind her ear as she glanced at Andros another time. He wasn't glaring at the floor any longer, though his eyes were now narrowed at Ashley.

"Well, I'll get out of your way now," Ashley said, following Andros's glare herself. "Zhane and I can go somewhere else."

"Zhane?" Andros repeated, an expression Ashley didn't quite catch flitting across his face before she found him scowling once again. "What are you doing with Zhane?"

"He was going to teach me telekinesis," Ashley explained, smiling wryly. "He was going to try, anyway."

"Oh." Andros lowered his gaze, muttering, "Good luck."

Adya's smile became distinctly amused at the surprise written across Ashley's face.

"Thanks," she said slowly, watching him thoughtfully. "I'll leave you two alone, then."

"There is no need," Adya said quickly. "If you wish to be here - "

"Nah, it's all right," Ashley said with a small shrug. "Zhane and I can just - "

"Hey, Ash, are you..." Zhane froze in the doorway, blue eyes widening as they took in the third person on the Observatory. "Adya!"

She smiled at his happy exclamation, laughing as she returned his exuberant hug. "I've missed you too, Zhane."

Zhane grinned a bit sheepishly, but shrugged. "How've you been?"

"Busy," she said dryly. "And you? Karone still keeping you alive?"

Ashley giggled as Zhane actually blushed. "Well... yeah," he admitted. "But it's not like she's never in danger!"

"Of course she is in danger," Adya agreed. "But it is** you** who finds yourself in the most improbable situations, not Karone."

"I never..." Zhane sighed in defeat, realizing he was fighting a losing battle. "Well, I haven't for a really long time!"

Adya laughed. "That's always good to know."

Zhane made a face at her, linking his arm through Ashley's. "Come on, Ash," he said, tugging her towards the door. "I'm not going to put up with this abuse."

Adya shook her head, rolling her eyes. "I'll see you later, Zhane."

"Yeah, sure," he said with a grin, vanishing down the hall. Ashley laughed as he pulled her along, waving over her shoulder.

"She seems... very nice," Adya said, breaking the sudden silence.

Andros could only nod, overly conscious of his mother's eyes on him. Struggling not to squirm uncomfortably at the sensation of being watched, he glanced up, groaning silently at her expression of knowing amusement. He tore his eyes away, and when he found himself looking up again, the laughter was gone from her eyes.

"Andros..." Adya sighed and rejoined him on the couch. "It's been so long since I've known who you were. Would you just... let me in?"

He looked away at his mother's plea, unable to bear the sadness in her eyes. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "But I don't think I can."

"Couldn't you at least try?"

Andros swallowed hard, having been left too much of his heart to continue breaking hers. "I can try," he relented. "But... not yet."

"That's all I can ask for," Adya said, her voice soft and sad. "But really try."

"I will," he promised, daring to glance up again.

"If you don't feel like talking, how about some advice?" she asked, her tone wry once again.

He smiled tentatively. "What?"

"If all you do is glare at the poor girl, you can't be surprised when she turns to someone else."

Andros flushed guiltily, his mouth already open in protest. "I wasn't - "

"Andros, you can't possibly expect people to like you if you ignore them," Adya told him sternly, her hazel eyes amused.

"I don't expect them to."

"Things are difficult enough without you complicating them even further, you know," she said. "How hard would it be for you to just... smile?"

Andros just sighed, knowing that he would never be able to make her understand, knowing that he would never be able to make anyone understand.

**Author's Note:** Real life is going to demand more of my attention from now on, so I probably won't update for awhile, but I'll have chapter 11 up as soon as possible, and thanks to all of you for reviewing.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, but I'd buy them if I had the money.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** I haven't had much work yet, so I had some time to write after all. :D Besides, I'd better get through the next few chapters before I come up with a way to make the story happy. :P_

_**Funky in Fishnet:** I'll (hopefully) never be gone for more than a few days at a time... stupid guilt. :P I should give Andros nice parents more often, I love them. _

_**Frog1:** Actually, I didn't even think of making Kale the Phantom Ranger. I should have. It would make the story a lot happier. (I never saw any episodes with the Phantom Ranger, so I usually don't write him.)_

_**Jenny:** Did you ever actually think you were wrong about Kadri and Zeah:P _

_**C.C.C:** Your English is fine, don't worry. You're half right, but I'm not telling which half. :P _

_**hmmart:** Real life is always a pain. :P Here's more._

_**TrueRomantic:** Andros will stop denying he cares for her as a friend right about now, and he'll stop denying that he cares for her as more than a friend sometime soon, probably when BB shows up next. :D _

**Chapter 11**

"You didn't do that bad," Zhane said, a French fry hovering just a few millimeters above the surface of one of the Surf Spot's tables. "Really," he insisted at her skeptical look. "Okay, so you didn't do so great, either, but it wasn't bad."

"I guess not," Ashley agreed, her eyes landing on the floating fry. "Zhane, you can't do that here!"

"And why not?" he demanded, jerking his fingers just enough to send the fry zooming into his open mouth. "No one saw."

"This time."

Zhane merely grinned at her and waved a hand over his plate, the food lifting just enough to cause the casual observer to double take. Ashley wrinkled her nose at him, glancing around to make sure no one had caught a glimpse of Zhane's... extraordinary talents.

"What?"

Ashley couldn't help laughing at his perfected look of innocence. "How long until I can do that?"

"Do what?" Zhane smirked, his blue eyes perfectly round. "I didn't do anything."

Ashley stuck her tongue out at him. "Seriously."

"It depends on how much you want it," he said after a moment. "And Ash... you don't really want to, do you?"

Ashley blinked at the oddly perceptive question. "I do," she insisted. "But, well, I..."

"You just would rather learn it from someone else?" he finished with a smirk.

Ashley groaned and rested her chin on her palms. "Is it that obvious?"

"Not to him." Zhane sighed, sobering. "Ash, how much do you care for him?"

She hesitated, fully aware of how much Andros meant to Zhane and Karone. "I'd be his friend if he'd let me," she said finally. "But I don't think he ever will."

"Ash, you have to understand..." It was Zhane's turn to hesitate. "Andros doesn't really let people in. He never has. Even Karone and I don't know him nearly as well as he knows us. And then after... after KO-35 was evacuated, that didn't make it any better."

"For a day or two, I thought he was opening up," Ashley admitted. "He talked to me, anyway."

"About what?" Zhane leaned forward slightly, his interest piqued.

Ashley shrugged. Andros had never asked her not to repeat anything he'd chosen to tell her, but she had a strong hunch he wouldn't appreciate it if she recited their conversations only to satisfy Zhane's curiosity.

"He didn't really talk," she said thoughtfully, and somewhat honestly. "It was more like... he'd let me ask him questions, and then he'd answer in a few words."

"Now **that** sounds more like Andros." Zhane grinned. "But it's a near-miracle he let you even ask him something without taking your head off."

"He doesn't seem that bad," she protested automatically, though she wasn't sure why.

Zhane raised a skeptical eyebrow. "He was ready to throw the four of you right back into space!"

"Yeah, but he didn't," Ashley said with a small shrug. "I think he's gotten used to us, anyway."

"Ash, Karone and I have been meaning to ask you..." Zhane lowered his voice as a precaution against being overheard. "How'd you talk him into giving you your morpher?"

"What?" Ashley's head came up in surprise. "I didn't. He gave it to me."

Zhane's eyebrows lifted. "But... he said... Karone and I were ready to let the four of you onto the team. Andros said fine because he didn't have a choice, but he took the yellow morpher with him and said not that one. Then a half hour later, you're wearing the morpher and he's not talking."

"I didn't know that," she said slowly. "I was in the engine room when he came in and told me that it was his ship and I shouldn't be there. I don't remember what I said next, but he threw the morpher at me and was gone by the time I looked up."

Zhane exhaled slowly, his breathing even and measured. "Maybe he'll let you in, after all," he said with a dubious sigh. "That doesn't sound like the Andros I know."

"I wish he would," she said, her tone growing wistful. "It almost hurts, to see him hurting."

Once again, Zhane hesitated. "Ash... are you sure that you only care for him as a friend?"

"Zhane, I can't like him any other way," she said with a shake of her head. "Not when I've already got a boyfriend I love."

Zhane's mouth was half opened to say something Ashley was certain she didn't want to hear when the soft beep of their communicators sounded. As nonchalantly as they could manage, the two slipped out of their seats, making for the door.

"Go ahead." Zhane spoke tersely, his eyes scanning the horizon for some sign of a battle.

"Angel Grove is under attack."

"Thank you, Deca." Zhane rolled his eyes up at the sky. "Ready, Ash?"

She nodded, adrenaline coursing through her veins. "Let's rocket!"

**---**

"Don't you people know when to quit?" Carlos grumbled, dodging Lyra's slashing sword.

"There is no reason to quit when we are winning," she retorted calmly, a well-aimed tornado kick sending the black ranger staggering.

"Carlos!" Cassie shouted, intercepting the blow meant to take off his head. Planting her foot firmly into Lyra's stomach, she forced the villainess back as Carlos recovered.

"I'm fine," he gasped out, struggling to catch his breath. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," she said airily, shifting slightly to her right as TJ joined them.

"You guys all right?"

"We're fine," she assured him, resuming her defensive stance as Lyra charged them again.

"Look out!" Ashley yelled at them, ducking a Quantron's blade as Cosmos attacked her friends from behind. TJ dodged, Carlos ducked, and Cassie kicked hard, forcing herself into a somersault to avoid the returning attack. It wasn't enough, and Cosmos caught her hard in the chest, completely knocking the wind out of her.

"Cassie!" TJ shouted, lunging forward to block the blow meant to finish the pink ranger. He tackled her from the side and they both went down, rolling clear of emminent danger.

"Carlos, look out!" Karone screamed, her staff swinging furiously at the masses of Quantrons as she struggled to aid her friend. It did little good; she and Zhane were completely surrounded, and forced up against each other.

Following Karone's gaze, Ashley elbowed her way to the black ranger's side, her Star Slinger firing continuously. Carlos staggered back into her, gasping for air as he clutched his side.

"I'm all right," he insisted, shaking off her supportive arm.

"You sure?"

"Yeah," he assured her, falling into position beside her. "Thanks."

"No prob."

Ashley yelped in surprise as Cosmos kicked her feet out from under her, pinning her to the ground before she had opportunity to recover. Trapped beneath him, she was left unable to defend herself as he drew back his sword, the sharp tip of the blade pressing against the clean white neck of her suit.

"Surrender, yellow ranger," he hissed.

"Never."

Ashley bucked her body upwards, knocking him just enough off-balance to force him to loosen the hold he had on her. Her muscles protested against the sudden strain, but did as they were told, and somehow, Ashley managed to roll out from under him, her hands flailing about blindly for her Star Slinger.

The instant her fingers closed around the weapon's handle, she fired, landing several hits as she scrambled to her feet. Cosmos was driven back several paces, but even as Ashley smiled to herself in triumph, Lyra darted in to attack. Ashley's mind had just enough time to catch a whirling blur coming her way before she was sent flying through the air.

She groaned quietly as she landed, feeling her energy beginning to fade. Lyra was approaching too quickly, her sword a shiny gleam of metal. Throwing herself completely down onto her back, Ashley planted both her feet firmly into Lyra's stomach, using the momentum to pull herself back up.

Lyra recovered more quickly, and before she knew it, Ashley was down again, groaning in pain and gasping for breath. Her strength was beginning to fade, and it was all she could do to push herself up onto her side, glaring weakly at Lyra through her visor.

Lyra smirked, tossing her flaming hair as she approached, weilding her sword purposefully. Over the rush of blood in her ears, Ashley could dimly hear her friends shouting her name, but they were too far away, and would never be able to reach her in time.

Closing her eyes, Ashley braced herself as best she could for Lyra to strike, fully aware that the next blow could very well be the last she ever felt. Swallowing hard, she clenched her fingers around the handle of her Star Slinger, determined not to go so easily.

"Ashley!"

"You!" Lyra's head snapped up in surprise, quickly replaced by a sneer. "So the red ranger finally decided to come play?"

Andros didn't answer, only positioning himself between Ashley and Lyra, falling into a defensive stance as though it came to him as naturally as breathing. Too stunned to move, Ashley could only stare blankly as he motioned behind his back for her to move.

She snapped out of her daze as Lyra leapt at Andros, and forced herself to her feet, firing without pause as Andros blocked every hit, yet never throwing a punch of his own.

"We'll finish this later," Lyra snarled suddenly, vanishing without another word. Cosmos and the Quantrons were gone an instant later, leaving the rangers standing silently in the complete stillness of the abandoned block.

"Andros." Zhane was the first to break the quiet, demorphing in a shimmer of silver. "What - "

"We should get back to the Megaship," he interrupted. He'd had the presence of mind to don a cloak, and it concealed his face well, but Ashley wondered if she hadn't heard a slight tremor to his voice.

"Yeah," she agreed. Slowly, cautiously, she extended one arm, the gloved fingers of her right hand brushing against his elbow. He didn't stiffen as she'd expected him to, and slowly turned to face her.

"What?"

"Power down," she muttered, smiling to herself. "Andros? Thanks."


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** Nope, not mine.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** You're still psychic, don't worry, but this time, I say it's your twisted mind, given at what point in the chapter you figured it out. :P And your twisted mind should love this..._

_**Frog1:** I missed most of the episodes towards the middle of PRIS, and the one with Phantom was one of them. :(_

_**C.C.C:** I love it when he saves her. :P You'll see soon enough which half of your guess was right. (But knowing me, I'll end up changing the plot at the last minute and the story goes off in the completely opposite direction. :P)_

_**Mz. Daydream:** It was about time he got some sense knocked into him. :D Ashley won't have to break him as much in this story as in some others._

_**Jenny:** He cares, and it took him long enough:P Ben is not Cosmos, but I did consider the idea for awhile. Hehe..._

_**TrueRomantic:** Here's more, sorry for the wait. _

_**Amanda:** I'm glad you like it. I don't think there are enough PRIS fics, good or bad._

_**hmmart:** Here's another one._

_**Funky in Fishnet:** I just couldn't resist having him save her. :P_

** the-power-of-love:** The way things are going right now, you'll have to wait awhile to see why Andros doesn't morph. He might show up in a few fights, but this part isn't very action-heavy to begin with, so I don't know for sure.

**Chapter 12**

"What did you do today?" Ashley tried, nestling her head against Ben's shoulder as she watched the ads on the movie screen.

"You know I have practice today?"

"Yeah," she said with a sigh. "Anything else?"

He tore himself away from the movie screen to spare her an annoyed glance. "No."

"Oh," she said. "I..."

Ashley let her voice trail off, feeling silly talking to the air when she knew he wasn't listening. She sighed silently and tried to relax against him, but her mind refused to slow down.

_If I told you that I almost died today,_ she thought at him, _what would you do? Would you hold me and tell me how much you love me? Or would you just wait until the lights go down and grab at me? Would you even care?_

Ashley sighed again, doubts beginning to nag at her. She knew she loved Ben, but lately, she had begun to wonder if he loved her, or if he was just using her, wanting something she knew she wasn't ready to give.

"Hey." Ben tapped her face hard. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Sorry," she murmured, her mouth opening in a yawn. "Guess I'm just tired."

"Better wake up, then." He smirked. "We didn't come here to sleep, after all."

Ashley didn't answer, not having the energy to laugh and force some attempt at humor. She was momentarily relieved as the theater darkened, although just as she'd expected, he was on her an instant later.

She let him pull her from her seat to his lap willingly enough, and didn't protest as he kissed her. She could feel herself responding to the kiss, wanting more, but her mind seemed strangely seperate from her body, and was urging her to pull away.

Distantly, she was aware of his tongue exploring her mouth, circling around possessively. She could feel his hands unzipping the sweatshirt she always wore against as protection against the cool air of the theater, and her heart slowly began to ache.

Ashley didn't want to believe that she'd spent a year loving someone who didn't love her in return. She didn't want to believe that she'd wasted all that time with someone who wanted her for one thing and only one thing. She didn't want to believe it...

But she was beginning to.

"Ben," she murmured, her mind slamming back into her body. His lips were somewhere at the base of her neck and moving steadily lower, and he pulled back reluctantly only when he'd kissed his way down to the neckline of her shirt.

"What?"

"I don't think - "

"Aww, come on, Ashley," he said with a roll of his eyes. "We've done more than this before."

"Not in public," she protested, gasping quietly in surprise as his hands slipped beneath her shirt, her skin breaking out in goosebumps against his cold fingers.

"No one can see us," he insisted, his hands slid higher, resting on her waist for a moment. "You didn't even see that."

"Ben, I - "

"Ashley, it's not a big deal," he said, clearly annoyed.

"We're in a movie theater!" she hissed in a whisper, though no one was seated in the six rows closest to them.

"So?" he demanded. "People do all kinds of crazy stuff in movie theaters."

"I just don't want to be one of those people, all right?" she said softly. "I can't do this here, Ben."

"And why not?"

Ashley suddenly realized his hands had moved even higher and were a little too close to somewhere she was very sure she didn't want them. His hands tightened around her as she made to pull back, and for the first time, Ashley felt a flicker of fear. She was stronger than he was and knew it, but truly didn't want to fight him.

"Ben, let me go," she insisted.

"Why?"

His hands moved around behind her and Ashley jerked back as she felt his fingers fumbling with the tiny hooks on her bra. The back of a movie theater was definitely **not** where she wanted to be the first time a guy undressed her. Ashley bit her lip, realizing that she didn't want to be undressed by just 'a guy' in the first place.

"Because I don't want to," she said simply, straightening her shirt and slipping back into her sweatshirt. "I'll call you tomorrow."

Ashley hurried out of the theater before he had the chance to follow her, heading for the bathroom just to be safe. Leaning against the wall of one of the empty stalls, she tapped at her communicator, leaving the world behind as she returned to the Megaship.

She stared at the bland gray of the bulkhead for a long moment before she started walking, knowing where she was going, but not why.

**---**

The halls were silent as Andros crept down the corridor, glancing back over his shoulder every few moments, certain that he felt someone else's eyes on his back. There was never anyone behind him, yet he found himself looking back compulsively from the moment he left his room to the moment he rounded the final corner as he approached the Simudeck.

"Hey."

He jumped visibly, his pulse skyrocketing as he caught sight of Ashley leaning against the closed doors of the Simudeck. She didn't miss his surprise, and smiled sheepishly, stepping away from the doors to let him pass by.

"Sorry," she said, grinning faintly. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't."

He could practically see her roll her eyes, but she chose not to comment. "I thought you'd be here, and I just - "

"I don't want to train with you," he snapped, perhaps more harshly than he should have. "I thought I told you that already."

"You did." Ashley's expression was a cross between sadness and amusement. "That's not what I came here for."

"It's not?" he repeated, his voice much smaller now.

She shook her head slowly. "I just wanted to thank you again for saving me."

"Oh." Andros shifted uneasily, an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach. "I... You should have been more alert," he said harshly, not caring about the hurt he saw flash through her eyes. "Then I wouldn't have had to save you. You should have known better."

Ashley stared at him, stunned. She didn't doubt that she annoyed him a great deal of the time, but he had never lashed out at her before the way he was now. He had never deliberately tried to hurt her with his words, and she sighed, slowly backing away.

"I'm sorry I bothered you, then," she said quietly, not quite able to keep herself from glancing back over her shoulder at him. "I'll go now."

"Ashley..."

"Andros, I came here to thank you," she said calmly, unsure what to make of the uncertainty that had filled out his features. "I did, and now I'll get out of your way."

"Wait," he insisted, casting his eyes down at the floor as he muttered, "I... That's not what I meant to say."

"What did you mean, then?" she prodded gently as he stalled, shifting his weight from foot to foot uneasily.

"I... I wanted to..." Andros trailed off, his confused expression causing Ashley to wonder if he'd blurted out the first words that had entered his mind without considering how they would sound.

"I should have said that you should be more careful, because..." He stopped once again and swallowed, before finally managing to mumble, "I might not be there... the next time you're in trouble, I mean, and I... I wouldn't want..."

Ashley couldn't help the smile that spread across her face as he let his voice die away altogether, catching herself just as she made to move toward him.

"Thanks, I guess," she said finally, wishing he would just look up at her. "That means a lot to me, Andros... especially from you," she added quietly, watching his reaction carefully.

Andros was still staring at the floor, his expression now one of intense discomfort. Ashley would have sworn that he was blushing, and wondered suddenly if it was shyness more than anything else that made him appear so cold at most times.

Ashley approached him slowly, gently laying one of her hands on his. She felt him tense in what she suspected was surprise, but he didn't recoil, just stood there staring at her with almost a sad, lost look in his hazel eyes. She lifted her head just the slightest bit, and very gently kissed his cheek.

His skin was soft and surprisingly smooth beneath her lips, and it was all she could do to keep herself from laying her hands alongside his face. Drawing back with more than a little reluctance, she murmured, "Good night."

He didn't respond, and she backed away slowly, glancing back at him one last time as she paused in the doorway. His head was still down, but Ashley was almost certain that he was smiling.


	13. Chapter 13

**Dislaimer:** Haven't bought it yet, so Power Rangers isn't mine.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** I love writing cute Andros. It's so much fun:D_

_**Mz. Daydream:** Here ya go._

_**Funky in Fishnet:** Me no likey Ben, either. :P Andros will do something, but I'm not sure what or when._

_**Juzblue:** They talk more here, too._

_**C.C.C:** I think Ben and Ashley will still be together for another five or so chapters, but he won't be in all those chapters, and she and Andros will be getting closer._

_**DV2:** Here's more._

_**TrueRomantic:** There's more cuteness here. :D_

_**hmmart:** Ashley will get rid of Ben soon, but she does it mostly on her own. Andros helps, sort of, in a very, very indirect way._

**Chapter 13**

"Hey," Ashley greeted, a bit surprised to find Andros seated on the bridge. "Didn't you just have watch duty?"

He nodded. "I have nothing else to do."

"You could go down to Angel Grove," Ashley suggested. "I'll stay here."

"I have nothing else to do," he repeated calmly. "I'm sure that you do."

"Actually, I don't," she replied, her voice as even as his. "Mind if I join you?"

He shrugged his shoulders, his eyes still fixed on the viewing screen. "I don't care."

Ashley rolled her eyes. Making a face at the back of his head, she slipped into the seat at his right. She stared down at her console, wondering what had prompted her to stay in the first place.

"So..." she said, shifting uneasily in the awkward silence. "What did you do today?"

Finally looking at her, Andros cast her a glance of obvious annoyance. "Nothing that you'd care to hear about."

"And you know what I'd care to hear about?"

"I don't care what you did today," he informed her. "There is no reason you should care what I did."

"You're my friend," Ashley told him quietly. "Isn't that enough of a reason?"

"I don't want to be friends with you," Andros insisted. "I thought I told you that."

"Actually, what you said was you couldn't be friends with me," she said, smiling faintly. "You didn't say anything about not wanting to be friends, and you didn't say I couldn't be friends with you."

Andros felt the corners of his lips twitching despite himself, and it was all he could do to keep his expression impassive. "Isn't it the same thing?"

"No," Ashley said. "I don't think it is."

"Why not?"

Ashley shrugged. "Because even if you don't care about me or any of the others, we care about you."

"Do you really?"

"Yeah," she said softly. "We do. I do. Besides," she added wryly, "if I ever have to introduce you to anyone, saying 'this is my friend Andros' sounds better than 'this is Andros, and he's not my friend.'"

This time, he wasn't quick enough, and Ashley caught his smile before he could turn away. She smiled back, and before he knew it, one of her hands was resting on his. Her skin was warm against his own, and for a moment he even thought he could feel some of her warmth seeping into him, lighting the coldest, darkest corners of his soul.

Then the moment was gone, and he was suddenly aware of how... close she was. She must have felt him tense, for she drew her hand back. Settling back into her seat, Ashley watched him anxiously as he stared down at his hands.

"Sorry," she offered quietly, clenching her fists to keep herself from reaching out to him again. "You told me before... not to touch you, I mean. I forgot."

"It wasn't that," he admitted, realizing too late it would have been much simpler to say nothing at all.

"What was it, then?"

Andros hesitated, his mind racing to come up with anything that wasn't the truth. Ashley was watching him, waiting patiently, and he groaned silently, knowing that she was never going to leave the subject alone.

"Andros?"

Both he and Ashley jumped at the voice from somewhere behind them. Exhaling slowly, Andros swiveled his seat around to face his father. Kieran stood in the doorway, one arm around Adya's waist.

"Hi," he said quietly, smiling at the sight of them. Taking in their coats, he asked, "Are you going somewhere?"

"We thought we'd go down to Angel Grove," Kieran said. "We're going to meet Karone and Zhane for dinner later, and we were wondering if you'd want to come too... Ashley, you're welcome to come too, if you'd like."

"I'd love to, but I promised my parents I'd eat with them tonight," Ashley said with a smile.

"Andros?"

"I... have work to do," he said.

"Are you sure it can't wait?" Adya asked, the sadness in her eyes enough to make him flinch.

"I'm sure," he muttered. "Maybe next time."

"Next time, then," Kieran agreed, frowning. "Good night, Andros, Ashley."

"Good night," Adya echoed, casting one last look back at Andros as she and Kieran moved on down the hall.

"You should go with them," Ashley said quietly, watching him turn slowly to face forward once again.

"I said I have work to do," he snapped.

"I'll do it," she offered readily. "You can go."

"You don't know how to..."

He sighed, knowing it wasn't worth the effort to argue with her when she had him and they both knew it.

"Why don't you want to go?"

"Because," he muttered, "they don't want me to."

"Andros, they did," she argued.

"No," he snapped. "They didn't. They want to have dinner with Karone and Zhane, they just invited me so I wouldn't feel bad."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Andros, that's what they were doing when they asked me if I'd like to go, because it would have been rude to ask you in front of me. You're their **son**. They want to spend time with you."

"They don't," he insisted.

"Andros, you..." Ashley stopped in mid-sentence, eyeing him strangely. "Your parents, are they... bondmates? Is that what it's called?"

He nodded wordlessly, not even bothering to wonder how she knew.

"It's not that they don't want to spend time with you, then," she said quietly. "It's that you don't want to spend time with them, because they're bondmates, and so are Zhane and Karone."

He nodded again, feeling the lump rising in his throat. Ashley studied him thoughtfully, and he swallowed hard, hating her for being able to read him effortlessly when he didn't have an inkling as to what was going on in her mind.

"So you're hiding up here because you don't want to see them all happy and so in love when you're neither," she said, her eyes never leaving him. "Andros, isolating yourself like this isn't exactly helping."

He glared at her, but she didn't so much as blink.

"Andros, can't you see - "

"I don't want to hear it," he snapped. He winced as he heard the harshness of his voice, but didn't stop. "I'm sure it's nothing I haven't been told before, and I'm sure hearing it from you won't change anything."

"Can't you see how lonely you are?" she continued, completely ignoring his outburst. "How hurt you are? How - "

"I'm not lonely," he interrupted, irritated to no end that she had the nerve to tell him what he was feeling when there was no way she could possibly know.

"You are," she said quietly. "You've been alone for almost two years, Andros."

"I have not," he argued back. "Zhane and Karone have always been here."

"But as long as they have each other, they wouldn't miss you if you were gone?"

Andros swallowed hard, the fight leaving him at the accuracy of her words. His shoulders slumped forward as he nodded, biting down hard on his lower lip. Emotion threatened to get the best of him, and he grit his teeth, refusing to shed any tears while she was watching him.

Ashley sighed and stood, laying a timid hand on his shoulder. When he didn't protest or recoil, she slowly slipped her arms around his neck, holding him close as he fought hard to regain his composure.

He didn't return the hug, but she hadn't expected him to. He just sat there, his face hidden against her chest, his shoulders trembling every now and then as he fought down a new wave of emotion.

"I miss her," she heard him whisper, and she hugged him closer instinctively.

"I know you do," she murmured back, though she had no idea who he was thinking about.

When Andros stiffened a moment later, she released him immediately and stepped back, watching him anxiously.

"Will you be all right?"

He nodded out of habit, unsure of how else he could respond.

_"If you ever change your mind... come talk to me."_

His heart beginning to protest against the icy prison he had locked it in, Andros let his eyes settle on Ashley, wondering if maybe...

_No._

But his mouth had opened of its own accord, and before he knew what he was doing, he was saying, "Ashley - "

"Quantrons have been detected in Angel Grove," Deca interrupted.

Andros glared up at her eye, knowing that he'd never have the courage to ask again. Ashley glanced at him curiously, her gaze shifting down to her morpher just a moment later.

"We'll talk later," she promised him, and he could only nod. "Deca, call the others."

"They are on their way," Deca reported. She sounded as though she was worried as she added, "Cosmos and Lyra have appeared in Angel Grove as well, at a separate location from the Quantrons."

"Where are they?" Andros demanded, wondering what they could possibly need a diversion for. "Ashley, you should - "

"Deca, bring up a visual," she ordered, not giving him the chance to finish.

Deca complied wordlessly, and the viewing screen sprang to life. The night had darkened already, but Lyra's flame-red hair was easy to spot. She and Cosmos lurked just inside an alleyway only a block from one of the more popular restaurants in town. Ashley swallowed suddenly, her heart sinking as she spotted the couple strolling towards Cosmos and Lyra, completely unaware.

"That's enough," she said sharply, but one look at Andros's face told her that he'd seen them too.

"Deca, call Zhane and Karone," he shouted, leaping to his feet before she could stop him. "I'm coming with you."

"Andros - "

"I'm coming with you," he insisted, shrugging a black cloak over his shoulders as she spoke. "They're my parents, Ashley."

There wasn't time to argue, and Ashley sighed. "Let's go."


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** Not mine!

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Once Andros and Ashley are together, then he'll be perfect. Well, mostly perfect. Or just perfect in a select few ways. :P_

_**Mz. Daydream:** Here's more, and don't worry, Andros will open up completely soon. Well, Part 1 anyway._

_**Jenny:** I updated! But you probably won't like it._

_**TrueRomantic:** It's so much fun to have her read him so well, especially since it's driving him crazy:P_

_**Funky in Fishnet:** I love it too. It's so much fun:P _

_**Juzblue:** Here's more. I know they were close, but they have plenty of time, don't worry. _

**Chapter 14**

_"Mom?"_ Andros called telepathically. _"Dad?"_

He swallowed hard when there was no answer, refusing the even consider anything but the possibility that his parents had suddenly become distracted by something in the middle in the middle of the sidewalk.

A sudden shadow startled him, and he tensed, falling into a defensive stance automatically. To his relief, it was only Ashley moving to stand behind him.

"Sorry," she murmured, reading his body language with the same ease she read him. "Deca says there are two energy signatures are to the north."

"And my parents?" he demanded, following her without question.

"Sorry," she said again, shaking her head. "No sign of them."

"But they were just there," he cried. "Their energy signatures wouldn't just disappear, not unless..."

"I know," Ashley said quietly, hearing him choke.

She reached out without thinking, her fingers curling around his. To her surprise, he didn't recoil, and she knew then how frightened he was. He didn't release her as they started walking again, and his grip became almost painful as they made their way through the darkened streets. They must have looked rather odd, the yellow ranger hand-in-hand with the man hidden beneath the dark cloak, but the streets were eerily devoid of all life, and besides that, she didn't care.

"Did you hear that?" he asked suddenly, cocking his head to the right. "It sounds like... a fight?"

Ashley said nothing, but when he sped up, she followed, quietly summoning her Star Slinger. Their hands still clasped, they ran silently, stopping abruptly at the entryway to one of the many alleys in this part of town. Andros poked his head cautiously around the corner, his dark hood much less conspicuous than Ashley's yellow helmet.

The moment he tore his hand from hers and took off running, her heart sank, for she knew what he must have seen. She tore after him, raising her Star Slinger to fire. To her relief, Zhane and Karone had arrived. They were holding off Cosmos and Lyra fairly well, but she saw no sign of Adya and Kieran.

"Look who decided to come play." Lyra laughed as she caught sight of them, jabbing at Andros with her sword.

It was either her favorite taunt or her only one, Ashley decided, remembering those Lyra had used those same words in another battle. Andros didn't answer, but the way his attacks became wild and unfocused told Ashley that Lyra's words had gotten to him.

"What's the matter?" she sneered, her sword coming dangerously close to taking his head off. "Little red ranger has no powers?"

He lunged forward suddenly enough to take her by surprise, one hand knocking the sword from her grasp, the other clenching around her throat as he pinned her up against the wall.

"Where are they?" he demanded. "What have you done with my parents?"

"Who?" Lyra smirked.

"My parents, Lyra," he repeated calmly, though his fingers tightened around her throat. "Where are they?"

"Oh, I'm sure they're around here somewhere," she said lightly. "Ask Cosmos, maybe he can remember."

"Tell me where they are!"

"Is that how you ask for things?" Lyra grinned.

"Just tell me where they are," he snapped. "What have you done to them?"

"Nothing."

"Don't lie to me," he growled. "What's to stop me from killing you right now?"

Lyra considered the question for a moment. "Well, nothing, really. But you won't."

"I will."

"Then do it," she challenged him. She forced a blaster into his free hand, smirking as she stared into his eyes. "Do it."

Dimly, Andros thought he could hear Zhane shout his name, but he couldn't be sure he wanted to hear what his friend was saying. All he was sure of was the power Lyra's dark eyes had on him as he pressed the blaster hard against her temple.

"What's the matter?" she breathed, her eyes glinting with satisfaction. "You know, I really thought you'd do it, Andros."

"No," he whispered, feeling the lump forming in his throat. "No, you didn't."

"I did," she insisted. "I thought you'd jump at the chance... After all, it's not like you haven't killed before."

The blaster slipped from his hand, clattering loudly as it hit ground. He knew what she was doing, but knowing didn't keep the blood from draining out of his face. Knowing didn't dull the pain in his heart that had been there for so long.

"Kadri, please..."

He wasn't sure what he was pleading for, but he didn't think it mattered. He was right. The moment the name slipped out of his mouth, Lyra's expression had ceased being one of amusement. She drove her knee hard into his stomach, driving him back.

"Don't you **ever** call me that again," she hissed, her sword back in her hand. "My name is Lyra."

"I don't care who you are," he snapped back, blocking her easily for once. "I want to know what you've done with my parents."

"Andros!"

This time, he was certain he heard Zhane shout his name, and a moment later, he found himself staring up at the night sky as someone tackled him from the side.

"What was that for?" he demanded, scrambling to his feet.

"If you'd prefer, next time I could let Cosmos take off your head," Zhane offered, turning his attention back to the fight without so much as another glance toward him.

When Cosmos had charged at Andros, he'd ended up at Lyra's side once again, and now the two fought back to back. Ashley and Karone had, from the looks of it, done a fair amount of damage to Cosmos. He was depending heavily on Lyra, heavily enough that Andros wondered if they could actually kill him if Lyra wasn't there.

_But she's always there,_ he thought bitterly._ She's always there for him._

Ashley spun suddenly, blocking for him, and Andros jumped, realizing then how close Lyra's blade had come to him. He mumbled a thank you, wondering what he was doing down here in the first place. He wasn't helping them any. If anything, he was hindering them. They were spending to much of their time and attention keeping him alive, instead of concentrating wholly on the fight, as they should be. With a heavy sigh, Andros took off running down the alley, ignoring the shouts he heard from behind him, not sure that they weren't just wishful thinking.

"Deca, have you found my parents yet?" Leaning against the wall, Andros spoke quietly into his communicator, glancing around as though he expected them to fall from the sky.

"I detect your mother's energy signature nearby," she said slowly. "Your father has not yet appeared, but it is probable that they have been knocked unconscious."

"Where is she?" he demanded. "Teleport me there."

An instant later, he was much closer to the fight. Thrown carelessly up against the wall, hidden in the shadows were his parents, both unmoving. Swallowing hard, Andros fell to his knees beside them, telling himself sternly that if Deca had picked up his mother's energy signature, then she wasn't dead.

"Mom?" he whispered, touching her cheek lightly. "Mom!"

He thought she stirred, but her eyes didn't open. Biting his lip, Andros raised his communicator to his mouth another time, willing himself not to fall apart.

"Deca," he said urgently. "Teleport three to the infirmary."


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:** Power Rangers is Disney's. Not mine.

_**Mz. Daydream:** Yup, Kadri is Lyra, one of the former yellow rangers, and Andos's ex-girlfriend. Wow, that really is a lot of drama..._

_**TrueRomantic:** Sorry, this is a sad chapter. _

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Here's some food for your brain. :P_

_**Juzblue:** Yeah, he did._

_**C.C.C:** Don't cry, here's more._

_**Funky in Fishnet:** Here's your explanation. :P_

_**Jenny:** Since this chapter is filled with explanation... Yes, Cosmos is someone from Andros's past, and no, he wasn't a ranger. Yes, Andros was with Kadri before, and yes, he was with Yellow Ranger 1. _

_**hmmart:** I hope this chapter answers some of your questions._

**Chapter 15**

"They'll be all right," Karone murmured, squeezing her brother's hand. Andros nodded, unconvinced as he stared mournfully at his parents.

"Yeah," he mumbled, his heart sinking further as he saw for the first time the paleness of his father's face.

"They will," Karone insisted, tears trickling down her cheeks. "You'll see."

Zhane wrapped his arms around her then, pulling her close as her tears broke loose. She buried her face in his neck, sobbing into his shoulder as he rubbed her back gently, whispering soothingly in her ear. Andros watched them for a moment before glancing back down at his parents, not sure which was more painful to watch.

He felt a hand on his arm and jerked away automatically, stopping cold when he realized that it was Ashley at his side. His eyes must have softened, for she reached out to him again, and this time, he didn't recoil. Her arms slid around him for the second time that evening, but this time, he wrapped his arms around her in return, clinging to her.

She didn't promise him that everything would be all right, didn't tell him that she was sure his parents would wake up soon, and he wasn't sure whether to be frightened or relieved for that. She just held him, one hand stroking his hair as the other rubbed soothingly at the back of his neck.

Out of the corner of his eye, Andros caught Zhane watching them. He turned his head, and the glance became a glare as he took in his friend's uneasiness. He tightened his arms around Ashley until he heard her gasp, not sure why he was holding her so close, but somehow feeling that if he did, everything would be all right.

Zhane sighed and glanced down at the top of Karone's head. She was still crying silently, not much, just enough to dampen the neckline of his jacket. He hugged her a little closer, still watching Andros cling to Ashley out of the corner of his eye. The look in his friend's eyes was one he recognized, and all he knew was that someone needed to have a talk with Ashley, and soon. He knew Andros never would, and Karone was in no shape to do so, and that left him.

"I'm going to bed," Andros announced abruptly, releasing Ashley so suddenly she nearly lost her balance. "Deca, tell me the moment anything changes."

He bent to kiss his mother's cheek, laying his hand gently on her face. Her skin was still warm, but he didn't dare hope that it would be that way for much longer. He turned to his father and rested his hand over Kieran's cold fingers, swallowing hard as he stared at them both.

"Andros-"

"No, Karone," he cut in before his sister had the chance to say anything at all. "I can't stay here."

Karone sighed unhappily, but made no movement to stop her brother as he practically ran from the medical bay. She stared after him for a long moment before turning to Zhane and Ashley.

"Would you mind leaving for awhile?" she asked softly. "I'd like to... just talk to them, I guess."

Ashley nodded without a word and moved towards the doors. Zhane paused to hug her before hurrying after Ashley, catching her by the arm just as she was about to step into the Megalift.

"Can I talk to you?"

"Sure," she agreed. She paused. "Zhane... do you think... will they be all right?"

"No." Zhane sighed heavily and shook his head. "They're dying, Ashley. That's why Andros left. It's why Karone wanted to be alone with them. To say goodbye. For all of them, I guess."

"Andros-"

"He can't go back in there," Zhane cut in quietly. "He blames himself for this, and it would tear him apart completely to be there."

"How's it his fault?" Ashley demanded. "He was the one that found them! If he hadn't been there, they could still be lying in that alley."

"I know," Zhane sighed. "But Andros will never see it that way... That's what I need to talk to you about. He needs you, Ashley."

"He needs someone," she agreed. "But-"

"He needs **you**," Zhane said firmly. "You didn't see the look on his face when you were holding him. I don't know what you did to him, Ash, but if you leave him now-"

"He's my friend, Zhane," she interrupted, surprise evident in her expression. "I know I don't know him well, but do you really think I'd just abandon him? Especially now?"

"No," Zhane admitted, leading her down the corridor to the Observatory. "But I just wanted to be sure."

"Why?"

"I don't suppose Andros told you about KO-35?"

"No." Ashley shook her head.

"I'll start at the beginning, then," Zhane decided with a sigh, motioning for her to sit.

"You don't have to-"

"I think I do," Zhane said quietly. "If you want to be there for him, you have to understand..."

"All right." Ashley nodded slowly.

"The Karovan rangers were chosen as children," Zhane began. "Kir and Renn were the oldest of us, and they were only ten. Zyanya and I were nine. Andros and Karone were eight. The plan was to start our training young, so when we were needed, we'd be strong enough."

"That's only six," Ashley interrupted. "If Andros was a ranger, shouldn't there have been seven?"

"Not at first," Zhane said. "Karone was our first yellow ranger. I don't think the morpher would work for her any longer, but the power was meant to be hers. When they started our training, no one thought that the war would come any sooner than they'd planned, but less than a year later, the attacks had started. The soldiers were there to cover for us whenever we needed the help, but it wasn't always enough."

He sighed. "Karone was injured badly, and the doctors weren't sure she would ever recover. She did, and only a few months later, but the government didn't want to take the chance that she wouldn't. They replaced her, and if I ever meet the idiot who chose Kadri... She was young, the same age as Andros and Karone, and an orphan. She'd been rescued from one of the border worlds completely obliterated by Dark Spectre."

"Why was Andros chosen as the leader? If he was the youngest, I mean?" Ashley asked.

Zhane shrugged. "The Power chose him. Red rangers are normally the leaders, and no one cared how old he was. He was strong enough to keep us together."

"Then why doesn't he-"

"I'm getting to that," Zhane assured her. "Kadri took the yellow power, and once Karone recovered, the purple morpher was created for her. The attacks stopped soon, and for years, everything was almost peaceful. We thought everything was perfect, anyway. We had each other, and that was always enough."

He paused. "This is the part Andros is most likely to kill me for telling you."

"I won't say anything," Ashley promised him. "Go on."

"Kadri had always been beautiful," Zhane said. "And Andros had always had a crush on her."

"Really?" Ashley asked before she could help herself. "Andros?"

Zhane smiled faintly. "It wasn't as hard to imagine back then."

"How old was he?" she asked, trying to summon up a mental image of a young, happy Andros and finding it impossible.

"Umm... I think he would have been ten or eleven," Zhane said after a moment of thought. "But he avoided her until he was thirteen, so it doesn't really matter."

"He was scared of her?"

Despite everything, Ashley found herself almost smiling. Zhane felt his lips twitching, and if he didn't know how the story ended, he thought he would be too.

"Yeah," he said. "I don't know what made him finally talk to her, but they ended up together. He loved her."

"But she didn't love him?" Ashley guessed when Zhane's eyes darkened. The silver ranger sighed and shook his head.

"If that's all it was, he would have been all right," he said softly. "But Kadri completely betrayed him. Betrayed us all. She was Dark Spectre's spy, and by the time we found her out, it was too late. Karone and I were having breakfast that morning, and Andros came in, walking pretty stiff. His face was white, too. Not just a little pale, but white. Karone asked him what was wrong and he just stared at her, completely confused. When we finally worked the story out of him..."

Zhane closed his eyes then, running his fingers through his hair. Ashley watched him take a deep breath, and knew that whatever came next wasn't going to be pleasant to hear.

"She stole his morpher."

"She what?" Ashley exclaimed before she could stop herself, now understanding why Andros flinched everytime she asked him about his being a ranger.

"He said he woke up and found her sitting in his room," Zhane continued. "I don't think he understood what was happening at first. They were fifteen then, and he'd been with her for two years... I don't think it was unusual for her to wake him up. He said they talked. I don't know what it was she said to him, but Karone figured it hurt him more than losing his morpher."

"Wow," Ashley murmured.

"It gets worse," Zhane said grimly, shuddering visibly. "There was a reason Kadri kept him talking. She'd snuck Cosmos into the ranger compound, and while they were talking, he went to Renn and Kir and Zyanya, and..."

"I get it," Ashley said quickly, watching him choke.

"Andros was the one that found them," Zhane said quietly. "I don't think he was able to get the images out of his mind for a month."

Ashley just stared at him, at a loss for words. Zhane let out a long breath, shaking his head.

"Kadri and Cosmos became Dark Spectre's heirs for that."

"But I thougth that Cosmos and... Oh." Ashley stopped, understanding and disbelief flooding her face. "Lyra was a ranger?"

"We're not proud of it," Zhane muttered. "But, yes. And everytime Lyra kills, Andros blames himself for it, for not stopping Kadri. Now that Adya and Kieran..."

"Oh," Ashley said again, quietly this time.

"You wished to be notified of any change," Deca broke in, her voice muted.

Zhane let the air whoosh out of his lungs, a few tears shining in his eyes. "Kieran?"

"Yes," Deca said quietly. "Kieran has died."

"It won't be much longer now," he murmured, half to himself. "Most bondmates can't live long without the other... I'm going to sit with Karone, if she'll let me."

Ashley nodded. "Deca, where's Andros?"

"He asked that his whereabouts remain undisclosed."

She sighed, stood, and glanced at Zhane. "I'm going to find him."


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer:** Power Rangers isn't mine, Ashley's stupid boyfriend is.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Of course Ashley's going to make everything all right again! Or at least, as all right as she can._

_**Mz. Daydream:** If you mean what I think you do by cost, then no, that's not happening this time, sorry. :P Of course, that doesn't mean Ashley can't go get his morpher back for him..._

_**hmmart:** Thanks, here's more._

_**Funky In Fishnet:** He'll be all right, after awhile._

_**Isinha:** Cosmos and Lyra will stick around for a long time, but they'll get what's coming to them sooner or later._

_**Star Fata:** All that should happen eventually. :P_

_**Jenny:** Yay, you wrote more:P And why are you still surprised that you guessed most of it!_

_**Juzblue:** Yeah, kinda cool, but I'm thinking Andros didn't see it that way. :P_

_**the-power-of-love:** Here ya go._

**Chapter 16**

It was late now, but the streets of Angel Grove were far from empty. Ashley hugged her jacket closer to her body as she moved quickly between the small crowds in front of the movie theaters and nightclubs. She kept her eyes peeled for Andros, though she would have been completely surprised to find him here. Ashley honestly had no idea what she was doing looking for him among the crowds, but as silly as it seemed, she almost thought she could sense him nearby.

She kept walking, and the noise of people chattering and laughing slowly faded away to a distant hum from somewhere far away. The night breeze was chilly now, and though Ashley wrapped her arms completely around herself, she seemed to be shivering all over.

Ashley glanced over her shoulder on instinct, feeling someone's eyes trained on her back. Suddenly realizing that wearing shorts at this time of night was far from brilliant, she tapped at her communicator, silently cursing Deca for refusing to simplify things and just tell her where Andros was hiding.

"Deca, I need to find him," she insisted. "Can't you **please** just tell me?"

"Andros ordered that his location not be revealed," Deca replied patiently. "If you wish to find him, I suggest you contact him."

"I **did** contact him," Ashley retorted, knowing that there was nothing Deca would do, but finding the opportunity to vent her frustration a welcome one. "He's not exactly in the mood to answer his communicator."

"I am sorry," Deca said. "But I-"

"Can't tell me where he is," Ashley finished. "I know."

With a heavy sigh, she paused, staring at her surroundings thoughtfully. Not far from here was the alley where their earlier battle against Cosmos and Lyra had taken place. Ashley frowned.

"Deca, can you-"

"Ashley!"

Her pulse spiked sharply as she was grabbed from behind. She twisted herself loose and kicked hard without thinking, the fact that her attacker knew her name registering later.

"What's wrong with you?" Ben demanded, rubbing at his shoulder. "Who'd you think it was?"

"What's wrong with **you**?" she retorted, her heart still racing. "Don't you know better than to sneak up on people like that?"

"You should know my voice by now," he insisted. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for Andros," she said impatiently, unable to think of a way to get rid of him quickly. "Have you seen him?"

"Andros?" Ben repeated. "What do you want with Skunk Boy?"

"Have you seen him?" Ashley repeated. "I need to find him fast."

"Why?" Ben demanded. "What do you need him for?"

Ashley barely managed to keep in her growl of frustration and settled for rolling her eyes up at the night sky. "He... his mother is sick. I need to find him."

"Can't it wait until morning?"

"No, it can't wait," Ashley snapped. "I have to go now."

"Ashley..." Ben grabbed at her arm before she had the chance to step away. "You shouldn't go looking for him."

"And why not?" she demanded, wrenching her arm free. "You saw him, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Ben admitted. "He went down one of those alleys."

"That's what I thought," Ashley muttered to herself. "Thanks."

"You can't go," Ben insisted. "How do you know he's not one of those guys that hang out in alleys and-"

"He's not going to hurt me," Ashley assured him, quickly growing irritated with his refusal to let her alone. "Ben, I'll call you later. I have to go talk to him now."

Ben opened his mouth, closed it, and glared at her. "Fine," he grumbled.

Ashley took off down the street, not sparing him a backward glance as she sprinted for the alley where the fight had been. She halted just inside, letting her eyes grow used to the new darkness.

"Andros?" she called softly. "Where are you?"

There was no answer, but as her eyes adjusted, she spotted the telltale flash of red just over to her right. He didn't speak, or do so much as twitch as she sank down alongside of him, but when Ashley laid her hand gently on his arm, she found herself wrapped up in his arms so tightly she was gasping for breath.

"Andros," she gasped, feeling the air forced from her lungs. Squirming, she managed to get her own arms around him, and she held him without a word, waiting patiently for him to speak.

"Deca told you where to find me, didn't she?" he said finally, his voice dull.

"No," she said quietly. "I guessed."

"Oh," he muttered. "You don't have to be here."

"I know." Ashley paused. "Andros, your father..."

"He's dead," Andros said calmly. "I know. Deca told me."

"Yeah," she said awkwardly. Not knowing what else she could say, and not wanting to say the wrong thing, she fell silent once again, stroking his hair absently.

Andros shifted within her arms, trembling suddenly. "He's dead," he mumbled softly. "Dead."

Ashley bit down hard on her lower lip, her heart breaking for him as comprehension dawned. "Andros," she whispered. "Andros, listen to me."

"He'd dead," he whispered again. "My mother, is she..."

"She's still alive," Ashley said quietly. "Karone's with her. If you wanted to-"

"No," he said, his voice wavering slightly. "I can't go back there, Ashley."

"You don't have to," she assured him, rubbing small circles between his shoulder blades.

"I can't go back there," he repeated, the wobbling of his voice noticeable now. "I can't. I caused this."

"No," Ashley told him firmly. "This is not your fault, Andros."

He shook his head violently. "It is."

"No," she said gently. "Andros-"

"It is," he insisted, finally pulling away.

"No, Andros," she said sternly. "You didn't cause this."

"But..."

"No," she repeated. "Blaming yourself won't make you feel better."

Andros lowered his head, mumbling something Ashley couldn't quite hear, but she could guess well enough what it was. He was still trembling, and his eyes were squeezed shut. With a sigh, she shifted, holding him closer.

"It's all right to cry, you know," she murmured, stroking his hair. "It'll help if you do."

"I can't," he whispered, though Ashley was fairly certain she saw a tear or two run down his cheeks.

"Why not?" she demanded. "Crying doesn't make you any less strong."

"I can't," he repeated, his voice so helpless that Ashley understood.

"You don't know how to," she realized. He nodded slowly, and she sighed, pulling him closer. "Just relax, Andros," she whispered. "Stop fighting."

She heard his breath hitch as he exhaled and held onto him, rubbing gently at his back and shoulders with her hands. His body was limp against hers a moment later, as all the tears he had never shed won their way out.

Tears washed down his face as he cried silently, his mouth open in a noiseless scream of anguish. Ashley held him wordlessly, rocking him back and forth. He was clinging to her again, his arms locked around her midsection tight enough to make her see stars.

Carefully loosening his grip just enough to reach her left wrist, Ashley tapped at her communicator, teleporting them both directly into his room on the Megaship. Andros didn't seem to notice the change of scenery, nor did he protest as she tugged his jacket off. Ashley pushed him down gently, wrapping her arms around him once more as he slowly cried himself to sleep.


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Power Rangers. Agreed?

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Of course Ashley's the best. Andros doesn't feel like being sweet yet. :P_

_**hmmart:** You're welcome, here's more._

_**Mz. Daydream:** I want somebody to love too! They don't quite wake up to each other this time, but soon, I promise._

_**Juzblue:** Ben is a bigger jerk here. :P _

_**C.C.C:** No matter how much Andros might want to later on, he'll never tell Ashley she should break up with Ben. I've got that part planned, and it should be in about three or four chapters. I mean it this time. :P_

_**the-power-of-love:** Thanks, here's more._

_**Isinha:** Here's more. I always love it when Ash is there to help him work through all the emotional stuff._

_**TrueRomantic:** BB gets more annoying here... But Andros starts to fall for Ash, so it sort of balances out..._

**Chapter 17**

Ashley opened her eyes slowly, her body protesting against the position she'd slept in. Her mind registered Andros a moment later, and she couldn't help the slow smile that spread across her face as she watched him sleep. Her smile faded as she saw the tears that stained his cheeks and sighed, realizing that if he hadn't woken up in tears after yet another nightmare, he'd been crying in his sleep.

With a sigh, she smoothed his hair back from his closed eyes, her hand lingering against the warmth of his cheek. She knew she had to get up soon for school, but something in her rebelled against the idea of leaving him like this. The cold shell he had encased himself in was gone now, and Ashley knew that the person who had clung to her, crying, the night before was the real Andros, the one he had locked up two years before.

Carefully prying his arms loose from her waist, Ashley eased herself out of his arms. He twitched, and she froze, not wanting to wake him. "It's all right," she murmured, shifting to brush her lips against his cheek. "Sleep, Andros."

It must have worked, for his breathing deepened once again, and Ashley was able to slip out of the bed. She paused in the doorway, still hesitant to just leave him. His expression was almost peaceful now, though, so she backed out of the room slowly, hoping that by the time he woke, Zhane and Karone would be up.

A quick shower and change of clothing later, Ashley was stumbling through the halls of Angel Grove High to her locker, struggling just to keep her eyes open. It was only now that she realized how little she'd slept the night before, and she would have been perfectly content to go about her day completely unbothered by anyone and everyone.

"Ashley!"

Her fists clenched involuntarily, and it was all she could do to force a smile. "Ben, please, not now. I'm really tired."

He said nothing as she slammed her locker closed, but the instant she turned to walk away, she found that his hand had closed around her elbow. "Ashley, what happened last night? You said you'd call me."

"I didn't say I'd call you last night," Ashley snapped, pulling herself free. "I said I'd call you later. It was almost midnight!"

"So?" he challenged. "You still should've-"

"Ben, I have a life outside of you," Ashley informed him. "Sometimes other things are more important."

"Like what?" he demanded. "What was so important about Stripey?"

"His name is Andros," she said cooly, her voice only growing colder as she added, "I'm sorry I thought comforting someone when they needed it was more important than spending the night talking to you."

"Comforting?" Ben cut in, his eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"What does it sound like?" Ashley retorted. "What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me?" he repeated. "What's wrong with you? You were with him all night, weren't you?"

"Yes," she said readily. "I was. And if you're not going to believe me if I tell you nothing happened, then that's your problem, not mine."

"Ashley, it doesn't work that way," Ben insisted.

"Then we have a problem," Ashley snapped. "I'm not going to just abandon my friends because you're jealous."

"Abandon him?" he repeated. "You're making it sound like he actually needs you."

"How do you know he doesn't?"

"I've seen the way he looks at you," Ben snapped. "Ashley, he doesn't need you, he just wants you."

"No," Ashley said quietly. "I think that's what you want."

"Ashley-"

"I have to go," she said, and hurried away feeling oddly relieved.

**---**

Andros groaned as his eyes fluttered open, something feeling out of place. He pushed himself up and frowned, his brain struggling to recall the night before.

Dimly, he could remember Ashley's arms around him, and for an instant, he thought he could still hear her voice soothing him, but he couldn't quite remember why.

It hit him hard a moment later, and he swallowed, flopping back down onto his bed. Tears pressed against his eyelids and he blinked them back furiously, no longer afraid of crying, but of being unable to stop. Taking slow, deep breaths through his mouth, Andros hid his face against the pillow, refusing to let emotion get the better of him as it had the night before.

He pulled back and eyed the pillow suspiciously, sniffing at it carefully. It smelled of sweet flowers, or maybe it was vanilla, Andros couldn't tell the difference, nor did he care. Burying his face in the pillow, he inhaled deeply, the frangrances soothing him. For a moment, he wondered if Ashley hadn't left her scent there deliberately, knowing how alone he would feel once he awoke.

He shook his head, knowing that he was being ridiculous. As... pleasant, he decided, as it could be to think about Ashley, he was doing so now only to avoid thinking of his parents.

"Andros?" Karone's voice followed a gentle rap on the door.

"Come in," he called after a moment's thought.

Karone hovered near the doorway for several minutes, her piercing cerulean eyes fixed on him. Andros glanced away only a moment after her eyes met his, but still she didn't move, and he shifted uneasily.

"Mom died this morning," she said softly.

Andros nodded. There was no judgement in her tone, yet he couldn't help but sense something reproachful about her, and swallowed, in his heart knowing that she was right. He'd barricaded himself in his room and hidden when he should have been with his family when they'd needed him.

"Karone," he whispered helplessly, forcing himself to meet her eyes. "Karone, I'm so sorry."

"This wasn't your fault," she said fiercely, coming forward to wrap her arms around his neck. Andros hugged her hard, realizing just how long it had been since he'd held his baby sister.

"Ashley said the same thing," he said suddenly.

Karone wiped at her eyes. "Do you believe us?"

"I don't know," Andros admitted, swallowing. He hesitated, adding quietly, "I don't want to think about that."

"I know," Karone soothed him.

"I miss them," he whispered, finding tears leaking slowly out of his eyes despite his efforts to stop them.

"I know," Karone whispered back. "I know."

Andros had no idea how long the two of them just sat there, crying into each other, but he had to admit that Ashley had been right. Somehow, it didn't hurt to let his tears run as it did to keep them inside. Tears ran down his cheeks, and he let them, wondering if his soul could ever heal.


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Power Rangers. I do own Cosmos, Lyra, and Ben.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** She'll spend the night with him a few more times, actually. :D I actually got it finished in a day! But this might be the last update for a few days. Stupid school. :P_

_**Star Fata:** It's all right, what you want to happen is probably going to happen unless I go crazy and replan the entire series. :P_

_**Isinha:** Yup, Ben is an idiot. And he just keeps getting to be more of an idiot. :D_

_**Mz. Daydream:** All jealous and controlling boyfriends will disappear soon. For awhile, at least. :P_

_**the-power-of-love:** This is a little less sad._

_**Funky In Fishnet:** Ben gets nastier here, but all the effort Ashley put into trying to be Andros's friend pays off, too._

_**hmmart:** Thanks, here's more._

_**C.C.C:** Nope, he can't help it. :D_

_**Jenny:** I wasn't ranting! I was predicting the future:D Of course Ashley deserves better than Ben! If she didn't, she wouldn't end up having lots and lots of stripey babies!_

_**Maresia Eterna:** Thanks, and yes, Ben is a jealous and controlling idiot because he's the exact opposite of Andros. :D _

**Chapter 18**

"Deca, can you please open the connection with Centaur B?" Karone asked quietly, her blue eyes red-rimmed. To Andros, she said, "They'll want to know... and Kale..."

Andros only nodded, not trusting his voice. Karone squeezed his hand in understanding, not dropping his hand as the viewing screen burst to life. Kin Won's face broke into a smile as he saw them, the expression fading as took in their faces.

"What has happened?"

"Our parents are dead," Karone said without preamble. Her voice was strong, though her fingers clenched around Andros's. "Cosmos and Lyra killed them."

Andros watched as Kin Won and those who stood behind him bow their heads, and he swallowed hard, willing himself not to cry. His mind had accepted that his parents were gone, yet his heart had refused to believe that he wouldn't walk into the next room and find them sitting there waiting for him. His heart ached at Karone's words, but no longer protested reality.

"I am sorry," Kin Won said quietly. "We will all miss them."

"Thank you." Karone hesitated. "Will you tell Kale the next time he stops on Centaur B?"

"I will." Kin Won nodded. "If you would rather tell him yourselves, I'll have him contact the Megaship."

Karone nodded, wincing as Andros nearly broke her fingers. "Thank you," she said again. "We'll tell you everything soon."

"When you're ready," Kin Won assured them.

A tiny smile appeared on Karone's face and she nodded. "Goodbye."

Andros slumped forward over the his console as Deca cut the connection, biting down hard on his lower lip. Karone watched him for a moment before coming forward to wrap her arms around him.

"It's all right," she whispered, rubbing at his shoulder. "I'll talk to him if you want."

Andros shook his head as he jammed his palms into his eyes. Mourning the deaths of his mother and father was one thing, sobbing his heart out over the sibling rivalries of a decade ago was quite another, and his pride refused to allow the latter.

"I want to be there," he said firmly. He didn't really, but he remembered his brother's temperment all too well, and he wasn't about to let Kale attempt to lay the blame on Karone.

"All right." She nodded, letting her breath out slowly. "Deca, where's Zhane?"

"Zhane is in your room," Deca replied.

Karone hesitated. "Andros--"

"Go," he cut in. "You need him, and I--I want to be alone."

There was nothing he wanted less, but he didn't have it in him to keep her with him when Zhane could offer her so much more comfort and support than he ever could. Karone seemed indecisive for a moment, and then nodded, hugging him hard as she left the bridge.

Andros stared after her sadly, unable to remember feeling more alone. He wondered briefly if Ashley would come looking for him later, before swallowing hard and telling himself firmly that she had better things to do.

**---**

"I didn't break up with him," Ashley insisted for the thousandth time as she slammed her locker shut. "I don't know why everyone keeps saying that."

"Ash, you were yelling at each other in the middle of the hall," Cassie reminded her. "It didn't help that you were arguing about another guy."

"Cassie," Ashley sighed. "Andros isn't just some guy."

"And that's why you tow were arguing," Cassie said with a small shrug. "Ben can't understand that holding someone while they cry is different than sleeping with them, and he's hated Andros since the beginning."

"Cass..." Ashley hesitated, staring at her friend strangely. "You think I should have broken up with him."

"I didn't say that," Cassie assured her quickly. "I just think that there are other guys, Ash, and maybe somebody else might be better for you."

"You think I should have broken up with him," Ashley repeated.

"Yeah," Cassie finally burst out. "I think you should have."

Ashley took her time replying. "I love him, Cassie."

"I know," Cassie said quietly. "But does he love you? **Really** love you?"

"I--I don't know," Ashley admitted, biting down hard on her lower lip. "Sometimes I think he does, but then other times... I think he doesn't really want me around."

"Love isn't sometimes, Ash," Cassie said finally. "Love is always. If he only loves you when the two of you are alone in the back of a movie theater, he doesn't love you."

Ashley winced. "How do you know all this?"

Cassie shrugged. "Some of it's obvious, and the rest of it..." She hesitated. "You could say I've thought about it a lot."

"Phantom?" Ashley asked quietly.

Cassie sighed and nodded. "If he really cared about me, don't you think he would have ever tried to contact me? Even just once?"

"I don't know, Cassie," Ashley said softly. "But if I were you, I wouldn't give up on him just yet."

"Oh, I haven't," Cassie assured her wryly. "But if I ever do... there are other guys."

"Other TJ's?" Ashley suggested with a grin.

Cassie blushed, shooting Ashley a mock glare. "Weren't we talking about **your** love life?"

"Yeah," Ashley sighed. "We were."

"Surf Spot?" Cassie suggested suddenly. "Our love lives will still suck, but the food's good."

Ashley laughed. "Maybe next time," she said, her smile fading. "I want to see how Andros is doing."

Cassie nodded guiltily. "TJ saw him, but Carlos and I haven't even talked to him..."

"It's all right," Ashley assured her quietly. "I don't think he wanted to see people."

"Except you?"

"Cassie, I was just the first thing he had to cling to," she insisted, growing uneasy at her friend's tone. "Andros doesn't even like me."

"Right," Cassie said skeptically, but to Ashley's relief, she let the subject drop. "Uh, Ash, if you're going to go be with Andros..."

Her voice trailed off as she nodded to something off to the side. Ashley grit her teeth as she turned, already knowing who it was. She stared cooly at Ben as he leaned against the lockers and sighed, not at all sure what she wanted or was supposed to do.

"Well, I'll see you later, Ash," Cassie said loudly, edging off to the side.

Ashley nodded absently, her attention fixed on her boyfriend. "Ben, I--"

"Look, Ashley..." Ben sighed. "I didn't mean to be such an idiot this morning. I'm sorry."

"Oh," she said flatly. "Ben..."

"Have dinner with me?" he suggested. "Tonight?"

"I can't," Ashley said, shaking her head. "I'm busy."

"Busy with Andros."

"Yes," she said softly. "His parents **died,** Ben. He needs someone."

"And why does it have to be you?" he demanded. "What's wrong with his sister, or that blond kid, or Cassie or one of your other friends? Why are you the one who has to be with him?"

"I don't **have** to," she said sharply. "I **want **to. What's the big deal about Andros? You didn't have this much of a problem with TJ or Carlos."

"TJ and Carlos don't want to sleep with you," Ben retorted. "Well, maybe Carlos, but you're so much better than he is. Than TJ is. Than Andros is."

"Ben, you can't talk about my friends this way," Ashley said coldly. "If you're going to be jealous of every friend that I have, then this isn't going to work."

Ben narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you--Are you saying you want to break up?"

"No," Ashley said slowly. "I'm saying I need some time to think."

"You can't expect me to wait around for you, you know," Ben snapped. "There's other girls besides you in the world, Ashley."

"And there's other guys besides you," Ashley snapped back. "If you don't want to--"

"Think all you want, Ashley," Ben snapped, turning on his heel. "Just don't take too long."

**---**

Andros watched the bottom of the bunk above him, his eyes so accustomed to the darkness he thought he could pick out the tiny bolts that attatched the bed to the wall.

"Andros?"

"Come in," he called, breathing a little easier at Ashley's voice. She was sitting beside him only a moment later, and the instant he felt her arms slide around his neck, he swallowed hard, tears suddenly pressing against his eyes.

"Cry," Ashley whispered, stroking his hair.

"I did," he mumbled. "I want to stop now."

"It doesn't work that way," she told him gently. "First you have to work through all your grief and hurt and everything."

"How long does that take?" he asked, feeling a sudden wetness on his cheeks as Ashley held him close. She must have felt it too, and her fingers were gentle on his skin a moment later as she dried his tears.

"It depends," she said finally. "Months. Years. Never. A few minutes. All people are different, Andros."

"I--Thank you," he mumbled suddenly. "For staying with me last night."

"You're welcome," she whispered, her voice suddenly choked.

Andros twisted to look at her, frowning as he saw her lip trembling. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she insisted. "Are you all right?"

"I don't believe you," he said, ignoring her question. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing important," she relented. "Ben and I had a fight. That's all."

"Oh," he said quietly. "I--"

"It's nothing important," Ashley repeated firmly, though from the way she shifted uneasily, he suspected othewise.

"Oh," he said again. "I'm sorry."

Ashley nodded awkwardly, and he didn't say anything more on the subject, but when Ashley hugged him again, he wondered if she wasn't holding him a little tighter than she had been the night before. He hugged her back, holding her close, not daring to believe that he could help her in any way, though he wished he knew how to comfort her the way she could comfort him. He wished that she would need him, knowing that if she was gone, he would be completely alone.


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer:** Nothing's changed in the last few days, so Power Rangers still isn't mine.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Of course she'll lose Ben. She's just waiting for the right time. :D_

_**TrueRomantic:** BB is getting really annoying, isn't he? Oh well, he'll be gone soon enough, I hope. Andros should be very sweet once he works through all his emotional stuff._

_**Mz. Daydream:** He's gone for a few chapters, but they haven't broken up yet._

_**Funky In Fishnet:** As soon as Ashley gets unblinded, she'll ditch him._

_**Maresia Eterna:** I love angst and drama too, as long as there's a happy ending. :P I'm pretty sure someone's going to punch Ben sooner or later, and I'm definitely sure that Ashley's going to make sure Andros is all right._

_**Isinha:** Only sometimes:D He shouldn't be around much longer._

_**C.C.C:** Hope you have a fun vacation. At least I didn't end the last chapter with a cliffy. :P_

_**the-power-of-love:** Thanks, here's more._

_**hmmart:** Here's more. Andros and Ashley will keep growing closer, don't worry._

_**Jenny:** Plot? What plot:D Actually, stuff starts happening again here, sorta, but the most actual action won't happen until Part 2. I think she should just break up with him too, but I know how I want it to happen. No idea if it'll work or not, but I've got it planned. _

_**CSIMel:** Ashley will come to her senses soon enough, and in the meantime, she and Andros will be growing closer._

**Chapter 19**

Ashley pulled away much too soon for his liking, and Andros let her, taken aback by the sudden, strong urge to just crush her in his arms. She didn't leave the bed, though, and instead rearranged herself alongside of him.

"Did you stay in here all day?" she asked gently, slipping an arm around his shoulders.

"Yes," he muttered, tensing. He could already picture her dragging him out of the room, forcing him to interact with the other rangers, or worse, other teenagers from Angel Grove High that he couldn't function around at the best of times.

"I'm not going to make you leave," she said softly, squeezing his shoulder lightly. "It probably helps to be alone, for awhile at least. You just can't hide here forever, Andros."

"I know," he admitted. "I just... don't want to talk to anyone. Not yet."

"You don't have to talk to anyone," Ashley assured him. "But if you ever wanted to, Cassie and TJ and Carlos would be there for you."

Andros nodded slowly and sighed. "Ashley?"

She said nothing, but squeezed his hand gently, sensing that there was more to come. She was right.

"Is it... is it wrong... that I... don't want to think about them?" he managed to stammer.

"No," she soothed him. "It's not wrong. It's probably better, not to dwell on something like this for too long."

He nodded, and she sighed to find the guilt in his eyes, though it was really no less than she had expected. With another sigh, she pulled him back into her arms.

"Not thinking about them for a few days doesn't mean that you don't love them," she told him gently. "Do you think that they'd want you to hole yourself up in your room for the next month or so and blame yourself for their deaths?"

"No," he whispered, his voice steady once again. "They'd want me to be happy."

"Yeah." A small smile graced Ashley's face as she took his hand. "You think you can do that? Even for a little while?"

"I don't know," he said uncertainly. "I think I--"

"There is an incoming transmission," Deca interrupted him. "From Centaur B."

"Centaur B?" Ashley repeated, glancing at Andros quizzically. "Isn't that where KO-35 evacuated to?"

He nodded, letting the air out of his lungs in a sigh. "Is it Kin Won again?"

"No," Deca informed him. "It is your brother."

"Kale?" Andros's head snapped up, his fingers clenching around Ashley's before he could stop himself.

"Yes."

"Andros?"

"I'm fine," he said through clenched teeth. "I have to go."

"I'm coming with you," Ashley announced, standing to let him climb out of bed. "Unless you don't want me to."

"It's all right," he muttered as he headed out the door, too distracted to really hear her question. He did hear her footsteps following him down the corridor, and was surprised to discover how reassuring the sound was. It wasn't enough, however, to banish the anxiety that bubbled up within him the moment he stepped onto the bridge.

"Hello, brother."

"Kale," he said curtly, careful that his expression betrayed no emotion.

From behind his mask, he examined his brother carefully. Dark curls, the

same brown of Andros's hair, framed his face. Blue eyes glittered without both the warmth of Karone's and the laughter of Kieran's. His skin was considerably darker than it had been two years before, but all in all, Andros decided his brother had changed very little in terms of his appearence. He didn't dare hope that he had changed at all in other ways.

"Kin Won told me that Mom and Dad are dead."

Kale's voice brought Andros back to the present, and he nodded slowly. "They are," he said quietly.

"What happened?"

Andros could hear the accusatory note in his brother's voice clearly, and despite everything Ashley had told him in the last twenty-four hours, he couldn't help the feeling that he had deserved it. Letting his shoulders slump forward, he drew in a deep breath, praying his voice wouldn't fail him now.

"Cosmos and Lyra killed them."

It was all he could do to keep himself from flinching as Kale exploded. "What's **wrong** with you? You're supposed to make sure things like this **don't** happen, aren't you? How many people are you going to let die? How many have you let die? Four? Five?"

"Six," he mumbled, his head bowed.

"You've killed six people?"

"I didn't kill them," he protested, his voice weakening. "Zyanya and Kir and Renn were already dead."

"Maybe, but somehow I don't think Mom and Dad were," he snapped, adding lightly, "And I know Zeah wasn't."

This time, Andros couldn't keep himself from flinching. "I--I didn't..."

"Didn't what?" Kale sneered. "Didn't kill her? Didn't kill them? Didn't kill all of them? We both know that's a lie. It doesn't matter who killed them, you're their murderer, Andros. You're--"

"Shut up!"

Andros started in surprise as Ashley, who had hovered near the doorway throughout the conversation, suddenly stepped forward to stand beside him. Her brown eyes flashed dangerously enough that he nearly shrank back himself.

"You weren't here," she said coolly. "You don't know what happened. You have no right to talk this way."

"No right?" Kale repeated, unfazed. "My parents are dead and all because he didn't--"

"And how do you know what he did or didn't do?" Ashley snapped. "How do you know he didn't do everything he could to save them?"

"I know my brother," Kale said calmly. "And he's proven himself to be completely incompetent when it comes to saving lives."

"Then maybe you don't know him at all," Ashley retorted.

Kale smiled suddenly. His expression was distinctly amused as his gaze fell back to Andros. "Hiding behind your lover now, brother?"

"She's not my lover," he mumbled, not quite able to keep his eyes from flickering towards Ashley. She didn't look pleased.

"A good thing, too," Kale laughed. With a smirk, he added, "If you'd like to keep her alive."

"What do you want?" he finally burst out, his hands balling themselves into fists. "I'm sure you have better things to do than stand here and talk to me."

"I have nothing better to do while my ship is being refueled," Kale said with a shrug. "I'll be arriving in the Sol system sometime tonight."

"What?" Andros finally looked up. "You're coming here?"

"I'd like to say goodbye to my parents," Kale said coldly. "You've managed to preserve their bodies, at least?"

"Yes," he muttered, finding himself dangerously close to choking up. "They've been frozen."

"You're capable of something, then," Kale observed. "I'll see you tonight, brother."

The viewing screen went black as Kale cut the connection from his end. Andros let out a shaky breath, jumping as Ashley rested an arm across his shoulders. He shifted uneasily, but didn't pull away, blood rushing to his face as he remembered Kale's assumption that he and Ashley had been lovers. He swallowed, finally forced to admit that despite all the effort he'd put into keeping her at a distance, she had somehow gotten close. Too close. He couldn't push her away now if he wanted to, and what was worse, he found he didn't want to.

"Andros?"

"I'm all right," he mumbled, unable to look her in the eye. "Kale's been worse. Much worse."

"That doesn't mean you're all right," Ashley said quietly. "Andros, you know it wasn't true, don't you? You didn't kill them. It's not your fault they died."

"My parents, maybe it's not," he said finally, his voice choked. "But all the others, it is."

"No, Andros," she said gently. "Zhane told me what happened on KO-35. You didn't kill them. Cosmos and Lyra did."

"Not Zeah," he muttered. "I killed her."

_So this is who he meant._ Ashley sighed silently, remembering the night of Adya and Kieran's deaths. Zeah must be the one Andros said he missed, the one who he had struggled so hard not to cry for.

"You loved her, didn't you?" she said softly, pulling him into a gentle hug.

"Yes," he whispered. "And I killed her."

"Andros--"

"Lyra is attacking Angel Grove." Deca interrupted them for the second time in half an hour, earning herself a healthy glare from Ashley.

"Where's Cosmos?" the yellow ranger demanded, releasing Andros in order to flip open her morpher.

"There is no sign of him," Deca reported calmly. "I have alerted the other rangers."

"Let's rocket!" Ashley shouted, her vision flaring gold for an instant as her suit appeared. "We'll finish talking later, Andros. Deca, teleport me to the battle scene."

Ashley vanished from the bridge amid a shower of yellow sparkles, and Andros glanced up just in time to watch her appear on the viewing screen. He sank down into his seat slowly, the lump in his throat threatening to choke him. He let his shoulders slump forward as the battle raged, unable to watch another fight from the sidelines. He couldn't stand it any longer, not when he knew he was supposed to be one of them.


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Power Rangers.

_**TrueRomantic: **It's always so cute when they defend each other. :D And Kale's not going to get any better._

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** How about if I just keep writing all the fun parts and you can read them months ahead of everyone else:P We really do need to bug Bea... And when you stop talking to me, I just kinda assume AIM was being stupid again. :P_

_**Jessica01:** I ended up skipping that battle. The story is going to be long enough already. He'll be their leader again by the end of this story._

_**Maresia Eterna:** I love to separate them too, but I can never seem to do anything but let them be happy at the end. And I just couldn't resist that lovers moment. :D_

_**hmmart:** Here's more._

_**Mz. Daydream:** Kadri was Lyra. Nope, Kale's not likable, is he? Hehe... I almost made him and Ben the same person, they seemed so much alike. :D And I'm supposed to bug you... WRITE! NOW:P_

_**Jenny:** I didn't change anything, I swear! Besides Saving Angel, this is the only story I haven't messed with. :P But let me try to make it less confusing... Kadri came first. Then she and Cosmos killed off half the rangers and she became Lyra. Zeah came later. That gets explained here, if you can get anything out of Andros's babbling... Kadri/Lyra stole Andros's morpher, so it's not that he refuses to fight. Kinda wish that's what it was now, but by that point, I'd already written whatever chapter it was that Zhane and Ashley talked. And yes, the blue scrolly bar shrunk. :P_

**Chapter 20**

Ashley teleported herself back onto the Megaship with a weary sigh. The sound was echoed by the other rangers, all of whom were as exhausted as she. The battle had taken longer than anyone had expected, and now, an hour later, it was all they could do to keep themselves on their feet.

"I need a nap," Cassie announced, stretching her arms above her head and wincing slightly. "Or a long, hot shower."

"I'm with you on the nap thing, Cass," TJ agreed with a poorly hidden yawn. "Carlos?"

"I'm going home," the black ranger announced with a grin. "I'll be fine as soon as I have some dinner."

"Food does sounds good," Cassie admitted. "Think your mom would mind if I tagged along?"

"Nah," Carlos said. "I think she's trying to marry me off to either you or Ash."

Cassie grinned. "I'll marry you as long as she's our cook. Coming, Ash?"

Ashley shook her head and yawned. "I could use a nap."

"Sleep sounds good," Karone agreed, her voice subdued to Ashley's ears. Zhane must have noticed as well, for his arms were around her just a moment later.

"Let's get you into bed, then," he murmured, stroking her hair. "See you guys later."

Ashley stared after Zhane and Karone, hesitating a moment. Her mind was made up just a second later, and she ran after them, catching up just as Zhane keyed open the Megalift.

"Hey," she said quietly. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," Karone agreed, leaning back against the bulkhead. "What about?"

"Right before Lyra attacked, there was a call over the comm," Ashley said. "It was your brother, Karone."

The blond girl groaned quietly, closing her eyes. "Andros talked to him, didn't he?"

"Yeah."

"I **told** Andros I'd talk to him," she burst out angrily. "I told him I'd do it!" The fury left her voice as she sighed, replaced by sadness a moment later. "How bad was it?"

Ashley hesitated, unable to help the feeling that she was somehow betraying Andros as she said, "Kale blames him for this."

"That's no less than expected," Zhane muttered. "What else did he say?"

"He's coming here," Ashley remembered suddenly. "He said tonight."

"He's what?" Karone exclaimed, her head snapping up. "Why?"

"He said he wants to say goodbye to his parents," she said, doubting that Karone would buy that for an instant.

"More like he wants to torture Andros," Karone muttered half to herself. "I'll kill him if he tries anything, I swear. Kale might be my brother, but Andros is the only family I've got left."

Ashley nodded. "Deca, where is Andros, anyway?"

"Andros is on the Observatory," Deca reported.

Ashley hesitated. "I'm not trying to pry or anything, but... shouldn't one of you go talk to him?"

"It wouldn't do any good," Karone said softly. "He only listens to you."

"But--"

"It's true, Ash," Zhane told her quietly. "Andros trusts you."

"But he doesn't even know me," she protested. "He's your brother, your best friend."

"Maybe so," Karone said sadly, "but he doesn't listen to us when we tell him he has nothing to blame himself for. He listens to you."

"Does he?"

"Yes," Zhane said firmly. "He hid in his room for months after KO-35 was abandoned. We were two rangers short because of Lyra and he thought it was his fault. I don't know what you did to him, but it's been less than a day and he's not hiding right now."

"So you think it'd help if I talked to him?"

"Yeah," Karone said. "I think it would."

"I will, then," she decided. "You look exhausted, Karone."

"I am," Karone sighed. "Think Deca has a pill that'll let me sleep straight through Kale's visit?"

"Come on," Zhane said gently. "You need some sleep."

**---**

Andros gazed up into the heavens, completely blind to the beauty that surrounded him. Zeah had tried to open his eyes more times than he could remember, but never once had he stared out at the stars and seen their beauty burning brightly. He could only see the darkness of space that surrounded them.

_"You can't just see the darkness,"_ she'd insisted over and over again. _"It's not good for you, Andros."_

He couldn't remember how he'd replied, but he suspected he'd snapped at her and stormed off. He wished now that he hadn't. He wished now that he had tried, just once, to see what she wanted to show him. He wished now that he could hold her in his arms one last time, but she was long gone now, and there was no going back.

"Andros?"

He didn't tear his gaze away from the stars as Ashley's voice sounded near the doorway. "What do you want?"

"Can I come in?" she asked quietly.

"Yes," he said quietly. "If you want."

He rolled onto his side as she knelt down alongside the old couch pushed up against the one solid wall in the room. He could hold her gaze for only a moment before forcing himself to look away, but he could feel her eyes on him.

"Who are you thinking about?"

Andros didn't bother to wonder how she knew. From the beginning, she'd been able to read him with no more difficulty than she breathed. It still frightened him to think he had become that open, but somehow, he found it comforting now.

"Zeah," he whispered.

"Zhane didn't tell me about her," she said slowly. "Who was she?"

"She was Zyanya's younger sister," he said, choosing the simplest explanation he could. "After KO-35 was abandoned, she was our yellow ranger."

"Andros..." Ashley hesitated, choosing her words carefully. "If you don't want to talk about her, don't, but... if you do, I'm not going anywhere."

Throat suddenly too tight to speak, Andros could only nod. Reaching out to take one of her hands in both of his, he sat and tugged her arm until she sat next to him.

"Don't go," he managed to tell her. "I--I want to."

"I'm not going anywhere," she repeated, the hand trapped between his squeezing his fingers gently. "What was she like?"

Andros caught himself just before blurting out, "You." Instead, he paused and thought for a moment, settling for mumbling, "I don't know."

"You said you loved her," Ashley said, her voice soft and gentle. "Were you bondmates?"

"I thought we were," he said tonelessly. "Until she died and I didn't... If I'd known, I--I--I wouldn't have..."

He stopped to swallow hard. "I wouldn't have killed her if I'd known," he whispered, his voice breaking. "If I'd known what it was like to live without her, I would have brought her back with me. I wouldn't have just left her body like that..."

"Andros?"

His eyes met hers for just the briefest second, but it was enough. The anguish and complete self-hatred in his eyes told her everything she needed to know. She opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it, suddenly seeing his words in a different light.

"You really did kill her," she breathed. Her heart went out to him as he nodded miserably, a few tears trickling down his cheeks. He nearly crushed her as she pulled him into a hug, and she let him, giving him the time to compose himself enough to speak. She hugged him back hard, never for a second even considering that he'd killed the girl he'd loved in cold blood.

"I didn't want to," he whispered, rubbing at his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket. "But Cosmos and Lyra... I told her not to go, but she wouldn't listen and then she disappeared... It was my fault, all of it. She knew I wanted my morpher back, and she said she'd find it for me, but they caught her, and then..."

Ashley shifted position on the couch, holding him closer as he struggled to continue. "She fought them until the end," he choked out around the lump in his throat. "But it wasn't enough. They... they broke almost every bone in her body, but she didn't die. She wouldn't die. They couldn't kill her, so they left her for dead. They knew I'd find her."

He shook his head and paused to swallow hard. "She was dying," he said, his voice emotionless once again. "She was dying so slowly, and she asked me to--to..."

"To end it," Ashley finshed for him, carefully avoiding the word "kill."

His head bobbed up and then down just once. He raised his head just enough to let his haunted eyes meet hers. Cautiously, Ashley reached up and dried his tears. He wasn't crying any longer, his pain running too deep for tears.

"I didn't want to," he said softly. "But she was hurt so badly I thought she might die if I touched her, and I couldn't just abandon her and make her die alone..."

"It was what she wanted," Ashley murmured, knowing that her words wouldn't make any difference. "If you hadn't--"

"No," he whispered. "I still killed her, Ashley."

Ashley sighed, not knowing what else she could say. Andros pulled out of her arms and stood, turning back to her a moment later to say shakily, "I never told Zhane and Karone that I killed her..."

"I won't tell them," she promised him, adding quietly, "I think you should. They won't blame you, Andros. They won't hate you."

"You don't know that," he said uncertainly, turning from her again. Ashley sighed and stood as well, wrapping her arms around him tight in one more hug. She didn't need to be told Andros hadn't felt a moment's worth of peace since Zeah's death, and at that moment, she didn't think there was anything she wouldn't do to grant him one.


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers.**>

_**TrueRomantic:** No, Andros and Zeah weren't bondmates, just very close. And who says he and Ash will be:P_

**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** I can't race through Part 1, sorry, but seeing how I spent FIVE HOURS on AIM with you yesterday writing an 'extended version' of that one scene just for you, you really shouldn't have anything to complain about. :D Hurry up and write something for that Truth or Dare story! I want to see how cute Andros is. And what else he is. :grins: Umm... what else? Does your Demon like candy? Mine thinks it's the best present in the world. Cheap, too... EVERYONE SHOULD READ AH/AY'S STORIES! There. :D

**Juzblue:** I hate Kale, too!

**Funky In Fishnet:** I don't like that brother, either. Here's more.

**Jessica01:** Andros has a bad habit of blaming himself for things he had no control over.

**Mz. Daydream:** They were both his old girlfriends. Kadri first, and then Zeah.

**DV2:** Maybe, maybe not, you'll see in a few chapters. :D

**Alacrita:** Here's more and I can't wait for your next chapter!

**Chapter 21**

"A Karovan shuttle is approaching," Deca announced. "It requests permission to dock."

"Kale," Andros muttered to himself. With a heavy sigh, he glanced up at Deca's red eye. "Dock the shuttle."

"Docking procedures begun," Deca replied.

Andros pushed himself up in bed, tired with glaring up at the top bunk. Swinging his legs over the side of his bed, he stood, his balance unsteady as the blood rushed back through his head. The darkness didn't help, and he nearly stumbled headlog into the door. Shaking his head hard, he stepped into the corridor, now nearly blinded by the sudden light.

His first steps were in the direction of the docking bay, but he hadn't moved past Cassie's door when he stopped cold, unable to take another step. He knew without a doubt that Kale would bring up Zeah, and he knew there was no way he would be able to keep himself from breaking down completely, especially not after his conversation with Ashley that afternoon.

Turning on his heel, Andros nearly ran in the opposite direction, not knowing where he was going, and not caring. He just couldn't force himself to sit quietly as Kale raged at him as he had over the comm. He didn't doubt that Zhane and Karone would keep Kale from going too far, and that was exactly why he had to get away. His pride had had enough of others defending him, and he couldn't seem to defend himself.

_So instead, you're just going to hide until he leaves._

Andros felt himself flush, but didn't stop walking. He halted abruptly before the Simudeck doors, hesitating. After Zeah's death, Zhane had locked him out of the room for six months, having caught him in midnight training runs one too many times. He doubted that it had occured to his friend to do so this time, and stepped forward. The door slid open smoothly, and he sighed with relief, eager to vent out... well, everything. He stopped short in the entryway, his eyes widening as he realized that the room was already occupied.

Ashley glanced up from her stretches as he entered, hopping to her feet as he hovered near the doors. "Hi."

"Hi," he muttered at the ground. "I didn't mean to interrupt..."

"You didn't," Ashley assured him. "How are you?"

"I'm fine."

Ashley sighed, studying his completely stoic expression. He was obviously more composed now than he had been after their conversation on the Observatory earlier, but if he'd buried all his emotions to regain his composure...

"Are you really?"

"I--I don't know," Andros answered honestly. "Maybe."

Ashley sighed again, and nodded, knowing she wasn't going to get much more out of him. "So, were you looking for me, or did you want to use the Simudeck?"

"I wanted to use the Simudeck," he said, realizing for the first time that he wasn't exactly dressed for it. "But you can. It's all right."

Ashley's smile was a timid one, as though she wasn't sure she should. "We could share."

"What?"

"I was just going to run one of those training sims," Ashley explained. "I know what you said before, but... well, I just thought..."

"I..." He hesitated. "Which one?"

"Not yours," she said, faintly amused. "I haven't quite worked my way up to a hundred Quantrons."

He flushed, not knowing how to answer. His mind drifted back to the night she had ended the simulation just as one Quantron had moved to do him some serious damage. He wished now that he hadn't snapped at her so angrily, yet the apology that formed on the tip of his tongue didn't quite make it out.

"Which one, then?"

"Does it matter?" Ashley shrugged. "Look, why don't you go change and I'll start one?"

Andros was halfway out of the door before he remembered what he was doing on the Simudeck in the first place. "No, it's all right," he said. "I don't need to change."

Ashley looked at him oddly. "What's going on?"

"The shuttle has docked," Deca announced. Andros glared at her eye, suspecting that she had deliberately chosen that moment to speak for the sole purpose of arousing Ashley's curiosity.

"What shuttle?" she demanded. "Is your brother here already?"

"Yeah," he muttered. "He's here."

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "How long is he staying?"

Andros shrugged as though he couldn't care less. "A few days?"

"A few days," Ashley repeated. "Will you be all right?"

He shrugged again. "I don't know."

"Spar with me," Ashley suggested suddenly.

"What?"

"Spar with me, Andros," Ashley repeated. "It'll take your mind off of things, and it'll be good for me, too."

Andros hesitated. "I wouldn't want to hurt you."

"You won't," she assured him, straightening the hem of her tank top as she spoke. She wore her warm-up sweatpants, but the sweatshirt was on the ground across the room, along with her towel.

"You don't know that," he said, still indecisive.

"Andros, I'm not a ranger for nothing," she said, clearly amused. "And you're not that much bigger than I am."

He watched her for a moment, and then slowly shrugged out of his jacket, tossing it carelessly to the ground. Ashley fell into a defensive position, clearly wanting him to attack first. He did, swinging a slow kick in her direction, one she blocked with ease.

"You can do better than that," she informed him, her returning kick much faster. He blocked her automatically, and she grinned at him, tugging her ankle loose. She dropped to the ground before his mind even registered that she'd moved, and he found himself dangerously close to having his legs knocked out from under him by her sweep kick.

Andros flipped out of her way, landing in a crouch just as she straightened up. He sprang at her and she leapt back. The speed of his tornado kick startled her, and she ducked just in time, close enough to feel his pants leg brush against the top of her head.

Straightening up, Ashley sprang forward, catching the fist that came at her. She managed to twist his arm behind his back, but that left his other arm still free. He spun, pulling himself free.

Ashley didn't react quickly enough and nearly found herself in a chokehold, but Andros seemed to hesitate, and she took full advantage. She caught his arm and tugged hard, sending them both to the ground with her on top.

"I win," she declared triumphantly, pinning his arms. No sooner had the words left her mouth than she yelped in surprise, collapsing on top of him as he flung his arms out and rolled.

"No," he said quietly, his expression unreadable as he studied her. "I win."

She tried to laugh, but it was difficult. Andros had her pinned so completely she could hardly move a muscle, and he let his full weight bear down on her, cutting short her air supply.

He held her there just long enough for her position to become uncomfortable before pulling back, watching her silently. He said nothing as she drew in several deep breaths, though she saw him wince as she rubbed at the stark white and red marks on her wrists.

"I'm sorry," he offered finally, reaching out to her. His hand closed around her wrist, gently this time. Ashley tried not to shiver as his fingers caressed her skin, his touch so light it wasn't really there.

"It's all right," she said quietly. "You didn't hurt me."

"But I could have," he protested. "I shouldn't have done that."

"Andros, it's all right," she insisted. "I'm fine."

"You should be careful," he blurted out, his hold on her wrist tightening just a bit. "We were just sparring, but in a real fight..." He hesitated, muttering, "I wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

"I'll be careful," she promised, touched by his concern.

Andros released her wrist then, and reached out to her slowly, giving her time to protest should she want to. When she didn't say a word, he drew her into an embrace, holding her close against his chest.

"I wouldn't want anything to happen to you," he repeated, his breath warm against her ear. Ashley wrapped her own arms around him in return, not knowing how else to reassure him that nothing would.

She didn't hear the doors whoosh open, but when Andros's arms tightened around her abruptly, she glanced up in surprise. Her face darkened as she took in the man leaning against the entryway, smirking.

"Hello, brother."

"Kale," Andros said stiffly. "What do you want?"

"I want to know what we're going to do about Mom and Dad," Kale said coldly.

"It can wait until morning," Andros said. "It's late. Karone's already asleep."

"Fine." Kale's eyes strayed to Ashley, who was still wrapped up in Andros's arms. "You sure she's not your lover?"

Andros released Ashley so abruptly she nearly fell. "She's not my lover."

"I've got to go," Ashley announced loudly. "I've got a history final tomorrow I should finish studying for... Andros, do you still have time to help me?"

He studied her for a moment, struck with the sudden urge to just crush her in his arms and never let her go. Kale wouldn't believe for an instant that he knew anything about Earth history, but Ashley had still given him an excuse to follow her. Though his pride was deeply wounded at the prospect of having her rescue him from his brother for a second time in the same day, he nodded without hesitation.

"Yeah," he said, pushing past Kale to follow her off of the Simudeck. His brother didn't come after them, and as they rounded the first corner, he stopped and drew her back into his arms, burying his face against her hair.

"Thank you," he whispered, hugging her closer. "Thank you."


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Power Rangers.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** I think I did kill his pride... made it want to die, anyway. :D I can't help it, he's so cute! And he's even cuter when Ashley's with him! And remind me to show you something... and to ask you something..._

_**CSIMel:** You'll never get an Andros of your own; too many people want him already. :(_

_**Funky In Fishnet:** Well, things get resolved. Not really in such a good way, but they get resolved._

_**Maresia Eterna:** Someone will kick Kale's butt sooner or later. _

_**Jenny:** He wasn't a jerk from the day he was born, just from the day Andros got to be red ranger and he didn't. :P _

_**TrueRomantic:** I love how she keeps saving him too! But she can't do that forever. :( _

_**hmmart:** This one's not quite so speedy. :P_

_**the-power-of-love:** Thanks, here's more._

**Chapter 22**

The box was a small one, no more than four inches wide. It was made of a sturdy wood, etched with the ancient Karovan symbols for peace and hope. Andros studied it with an odd sense of detatchment, tracing the carved lines with a fingertip. The wood was cool and smooth against his skin, though it grew warm from his touch as he traced the hope sign continuously.

Footsteps sounded in the hall, and he sighed. The walk was too heavy to be Ashley or Karone's, and he knew Zhane wasn't leaving Karone's side. He glanced up just as Kale appeared in the doorway, his ever-present smirk firmly in place.

"What do you want?" Andros demanded, his fingers tightening over the box involuntarily.

"To talk to you," Kale said coolly, his expression making it clear he didn't wish to talk to Andros any more than Andros wished to talk to him. "About Mom and Dad."

"Fine," Andros relented sullenly, settling back against the couch. "Talk."

Kale rolled his eyes, but when he entered the Observatory, his expression was almost amused. "Where's Ashley?"

"I don't know." Andros shrugged as calmly as he could. "I thought you wanted to talk about Mom and Dad."

"I did." Kale glanced towards the couch where Andros sat, and to his brother's enormous relief decided to remain standing. "They'd want to be buried on KO-35."

Andros nodded his agreement. "They would."

"But that doesn't seem to an option, does it?" Kale continued. "If you return to the Karova system, you might as well be flagging down Dark Spectre. And I'm sure you don't want more blood on your hands."

Andros clenched his jaw, but kept his voice even. "Get to the point."

"We'll have to figure something else out," Kale said with a shrug. "That's it."

Andros nodded and glared down at his lap. "Fine."

"That's Mom's, isn't it?" Kale asked suddenly, his gaze landing on the box Andros held clutched in his hands.

Andros said nothing and held the box closer to him instinctively. He wasn't sure why, exactly, just that it felt wrong not to. When Kale smirked, Andros flushed, knowing that he had noticed.

"Yes," he mumbled finally. "It was."

"What's in it?"

"Nothing," Andros said stiffly. "It was empty when I opened it."

"You're already digging through her stuff?" Kale asked, his voice incredulous, though Andros knew all he wanted was to provoke a reaction from him. "She's been gone, what, three days?"

"Karone and I were looking through their things, yes," he said with a calmness he didn't feel. "We'd have to sooner or later."

"And you did it without me?" Kale demanded. "What, did you want to take everything worth having or something?"

"Stop talking like that," Andros burst out. "They're really dead. This isn't a joke!"

"I know they're really dead," Kale snapped. He smirked again and added, "Because you let them die."

"Stop it," he cried, setting the box down on the couch as he moved to stand on his feet. "You could at least stop **laughing.**"

"I'm not," Kale said coldly, his features hardening. "There's nothing funny about you killing your own parents."

"I didn't--"

"You did," Kale snapped, silencing his weak protest. "You've killed them and every other Karovan who has died in this war, because none of this would have ever happened if you hadn't believed every lie Kadri ever told you! Lyra was completely at your mercy, and you were too blind to see it. If you had, none of this would have happened. You would have been able to save Zyanya and Kir and Renn, and KO-35 wouldn't have fallen a month later!"

"I wasn't the only one she fooled," Andros managed to say. He'd clenched his fists, and his muscles were completely taut, but he could still feel himself trembling. "The other rangers and Kin Won, and the committee that chose us didn't know either."

"Maybe not," Kale agreed, smirking. "But none of those people were sharing a bed with her, were they?"

Andros lowered his head as his face reddened, hearing the truth of Kale's words. He and Kadri had been nearly inseperable for two years. He should have seen something, even just once, to make him wonder... But he had never noticed anything but the way her dark eyes laughed when she did and the spill of her fiery hair across her shoulders. As he'd grown older, he'd noticed how sweet her lips tasted against his own and how right it had seemed just to hold her to him, but never once had she ever done anything to make him doubt her.

"She was a good actress," he said finally, willing his voice not to waver. "She never let herself slip."

"So you were sharing a bed with her, then," Kale said, not bothering to hide his grin. "That really does make you a traitor."

"Only once," Andros mumbled, his head still bowed.

"How does it feel," his brother asked, "to know that you've slept with the person who's killed everyone else you've loved? Were you thinking about that while you broke Zeah's neck with your bare hands? Were you thinking about that while you watched Mom and Dad die? Will you be thinking of that the next time Lyra kills? Because I will be."

Kale's eyes glinted with triumph as the blood slowly drained from Andros's face, leaving him pale and shaken. Swallowing, he raised his head carefully, flinching at the hatred he saw etched into his brother's face and eyes.

"I--"

"Lyra has attacked in Angel Grove," Deca interrupted. "I have alerted the other rangers."

"I'm curious, Deca," Kale drawled, grinning in Andros's direction. "Why do you tell Andros when someone attacks? Do you expect him to do anything about it?"

"I am programmed to alert the rangers when there is a disturbance," Deca replied calmly.

"Andros isn't a ranger," Kale objected.

"He retains ranger status," Deca informed him.

"Well, I think I've wasted enough time for one afternoon," Kale announced, stretching his arms over his head. "I'll see you later, brother."

Andros just stared as Kale strode away, frozen in place as his brother's footsteps echoed through the corridor. With a defeated groan, he slowly sank back down onto the couch, Kale's taunting words ringing in his ears. He knew Kale had only wanted to provoke a reaction from him, but that didn't keep him from believing what had been said.

He had trusted so blindly, they all had, and this was the price he had to pay. He had to live with knowing that he was to blame for everything. The deaths of his teammates and friends, his parents, his people, it all was because he had been too much of a fool to see what had been right in front of his own eyes.

His face colored as he remembered the one night he had spent with Kadri. She had been his first, and afterward, he'd lain awake nearly all night, holding her as she slept peacefully beside him. The moment his eyes had opened the next morning, he'd found how she'd betrayed him, and now he wished more than anything that he hadn't given her the satisfaction of knowing how deeply he'd loved her.

Andros let out a long breath and stood, feeling an intense need to retreat to the safe darkness of his room. He couldn't face anyone now, especially not Ashley, and he had a hunch that she would come looking for him the moment the battle was over.

The small box he had dropped onto the couch earlier caught his eye as he stood. Andros glared at the hope sign, but retrieved it anyway, knowing that Karone would want it and he wasn't about to let Kale have it. He knew his brother couldn't care less about his parents, and he wondered suddenly if they had known. He truly hoped they hadn't; Adya and Kieran had loved their children, and had deserved far more than any of them had given in return.

He left the Observatory as quickly as he could, hoping to make it back to his room without running into Kale. His brother seemed to have had enough of him for one afternoon and the corridors were clear. Relieved, Andros walked as quickly as he could without running, his mind a blur of faces. He could see his parents, Kadri and Lyra, Kale, Kir and Renn and Zyanya, Ashley, Zeah... Just outside of his door, Andros stopped cold, running his brother's taunting words through his head another time.

"Deca," he asked quietly, "where's Kale?"

"He is in his guestroom," Deca replied immediately. "Do you wish to speak with him?"

"No," Andros said quickly. "I was just wondering. Deca, could you... If he does anything... I mean--"

"You wish for me to keep him under constant supervision?"

"Yeah," he said slowly, locking the door behind him as he entered his room. "Can you also keep him from being alone with any of the rangers?"

"I can certainly try," Deca replied. "But may I ask why you feel this is necessary?"

Andros knelt beside his bunk, his hand feeling about for the blaster he had hidden there years before, when he had still been a ranger. His fingers closed around the handle and he pulled it out of hiding, his fingers resting on the trigger as he sat stiffly on his bed. With a sigh, he glanced up at Deca.

"Because not even Ashley knows how I killed Zeah," he told her, his voice wavering slightly. "And somehow he does."


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer:** The Power Rangers are not mine.

_**TrueRomantic:** It seemed less traumatic than having him blow her head off. He'll be all right eventually, with Ashley's help._

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Nope, Andros isn't blind. Just a really cute idiot. :P_

_**Juzblue:** You'll find out a lot here._

_**Maresia Eterna:** Andros will get a hug, promise. Kale will get his butt kicked, but I need him for parts 2 and 3, so he'll have to stick around awhile longer. _

_**Mz. Daydream:** Thanks. Here's some more._

_**Jessica01:** You'll find out in the next chapter._

_**Jenny:** It'll be in the next chapter. _

_**Funky In Fishnet:** Things will get better, promise, just not quite yet._

_**hmmart:** Not just Ashley's safety..._

**Chapter 23**

The quiet knock at his door was all it took for Andros's fingers to tense on the trigger. He had the blaster aimed squarely at the door before he thought to ask, "Who is it?"

"It's just me," came Ashley's voice, and he let his breath out slowly. "Can I come in?"

"Deca?" he asked quietly. "Is she alone?"

"She is alone," Deca confirmed. "Do you wish for me to open the door?"

"Yeah," he said, his blaster still trained at the door. "Let her in."

"Hey, Andros," Ashley said cheerfully, her steps careful until her eyes had adjusted to the dark. "We were just going to--"

"Ashley, get in here," he snapped, grabbing her arm to pull her the rest of the way into the room as the door slid shut behind her.

"Andros, what--"

"Shh," he hissed, his fingers tightening involuntarily on her arm. "Ashley, where are the others?"

"They're..." Ashley's expression suddenly grew wary, and he cursed silently, realizing her eyes had adjusted to the dim light just enough to see the Astroblaster he still held clenched in his hand. "Andros, what..."

"Ashley, you have to listen to me," he said quietly, quickly lowering the weapon. "Where are the others?"

"They're on the Simudeck," she told him, her tone guarded now. "Andros, what's wrong?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "But Kale... I never told you how Zeah died, did I?"

"No," she said, her expression softening as she laid her fingers over his. "What's this have to do with Kale?"

"He knows."

"How she died, you mean?" When he nodded, she sighed. "Andros, there are ways he could have--"

"I never told anyone," he whispered, fists clenching. "He shouldn't know, but he does."

"Oh." There was a brief pause before Ashley spoke again. "What does it mean, then? That he saw it all?"

"He had to have seen us," Andros said quietly, surprised by the utter lack of emotion that followed his words. "All I ever told Zhane and Karone was that Zeah was dead."

"And what does that mean? That he was following you?"

"I don't know," Andros nearly shouted in frustration. "But he knows. And he shouldn't."

Ashley sighed quietly. "You should tell the others, then," she said finally. "Even just Zhane and Karone."

"No," he said harshly. "I shouldn't."

"Andros, if what you've just told me is true, the best-case scenario is that he followed you around for months," Ashley said sharply. "Zhane and Karone deserve to know that much."

"I know," he admitted, his voice diminished to a near whisper as he watched Ashley's face soften with sympathy and understanding.

"They love you, you know," she said quietly. "They would **never** hate you, Andros."

"You believe that."

"Yeah," she said, her vehemence startling him. "And you should too. Do you really think they haven't noticed what you've done to yourself over the past two years? They know something's wrong, they just don't know what, and they have no way of knowing if you keep yourself away from them."

"I don't want them to know," he informed her with a coolness that startled him. "They don't need to know. They don't want to know."

"Of course they do," she retorted. "They want to know what you've been keeping from them. Everything you've been keeping from them. Andros, Karone's your twin sister! Do you really think she'd hate you for anything?"

Andros felt his teeth clench before he could answer, anger bubbling up within him. It wasn't much, but it was there, and it frightened him as much as finally confessing to Zhane and Karone what he'd done. This was Ashley, who had held him as he cried only three days before, who had stood up to Kale when he hadn't defended himself. He shouldn't be angry with her. And he wasn't, he realized slowly. He was angry with himself.

Ashley sighed softly as conflicting emotions tore across Andros's face, confusion being the one that stuck. Not knowing what else she could do, Ashley stepped forward and drew him into her arms, hugging him hard.

"They won't hate you," she promised in a whisper. "Andros, they just want you back."

"Are you sure?" he asked before he could help himself, his tone anxious. He winced as he heard himself, but Ashley simply rubbed at his shoulders soothingly.

"I'm sure," she said firmly. "Just trust me."

"I do," Andros whispered.

He wasn't surprised to realize that he did, but his eyes widened almost in alarm at just how much he did. He believed every word she spoke, no matter how hard he tried to deny them at first. Andros could see now that he had tried to deny everything at first, and swallowed hard, finding it all he could to do keep himself from clinging to her just to make sure she would be with him always.

He needed her, he could admit to himself now. The rangers often said that Ashley was the heart of their team; their hope when they had lost everything else. It was true enough, but didn't do her justice. She had done more than give him hope; she had made him want to remember what it meant to live.

Andros closed his eyes and pulled her as close to him as he could, his heart aching badly. He doubted that he would ever have the courage to tell her so, and knew that even if he did, he would never have her. He breathed in the sweet scent of her hair as his mind ran though the long list of his faults, from everything as trivial as his hair to the fact that he had killed the last girl that he had loved.

"Andros," Ashley murmured in his ear, startling him so badly he leapt away from her. "Andros, what's wrong?"

"N--Nothing," he stammered, reaching out to her cautiously. "I didn't mean to do that."

"It's all right," she assured him, letting him draw her into another hug. She wasn't sure exactly why he was holding her, but Ashley couldn't think of a reason to pull away. She was safe, she realized slowly, feeling his arms tighten briefly. She was safe when she was in his arms, and the lazy drowsiness that accompanied the revelation was a welcome sensation, one that she hadn't felt in far too long. It had been months since Ben had just hugged her... 'He's still your boyfriend,' she had to remind herself, the urge to just bury her face in Andros's shoulder suddenly overwhelming.

"Ashley," he whispered suddenly. She jumped slightly, glad that he couldn't see her blush in the darkness. "Ashley, will you come with me?"

"To talk to Zhane and Karone, you mean?" she asked gently, unsurprised as he nearly crushed her in his arms. "Of course I will."

"Thank you," he muttered, taking a deep breath before he could change his mind. "But not just Zhane and Karone."

"I'll be there," she said firmly, her tone softening as she added, "I'm glad you'll tell the rest of them. They'll be your friends, Andros, if you'll let them."

"I know," he admitted, not sure any longer that he didn't need the rest of them as well. "But I don't know if I can."

"They'll understand," she assured him. "They'll wait until you can... Are you ready?"

"Yes," he whispered, even as his mind cried, 'No!'

"Then let's go," Ashley said, pulling away to tug on his arm. "Andros, it'll all be okay."

He nodded uncertainly, but there was nothing he could do but trust her. There was nothing he wanted to do but trust her, he marveled as he followed her out into the corridor, temporarily blinded by the brightness of the light.

"Ashley," he said quietly, pausing just outside his door. "Thank you," he said again. Words weren't nearly enough to thank her, but they were all he had.

"You're welcome," she said just as quietly, a small smile on her face as she studied his expression. He didn't look sullen any longer, she realized. He looked more frightened than anything else. Ashley squeezed his fingers and sighed, wishing for the right words to ease his anxiety. Her mouth was opened in an attempt to reassure him when the Megaship plunged into darkness, and the sound that emerged from her mouth was a soft cry of surprise.

Andros's fingers across her mouth muffled the noise, and Ashley swallowed hard, strangling the cry completely. "Shh," he whispered in her ear. "Quiet."

Ashley nodded her head stupidly, realizing too slowly that he couldn't see her. She reached for his hand as she felt her way along the bulkhead, her heart thudding with fear. Every instinct Ashley possessed told her that this was no accident, and from the way Andros's fingers nearly broke her own, she could tell that he was just as frightened as she was.


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer:** Disney owns the Power Rangers.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** I **did** force this one out in 2 hours. :P_

_**Maresia Eterna:** You won't have to bear with him, exactly._

_**Mz. Daydream:** Well, I've done worse to them than this. _

_**C.C.C:** You don't say what you wanted to guess, but I think you were right._

_**Jessica01:** Read and find out. :P_

_**Jenny:** Well, that first part wasn't too far off..._

_**Funky In Fishnet:** Of course Zhane and Karone will understand. The only person to doubt that they would was Andros. :P_

_**TrueRomantic:** You can hate Kale even more now!_

_**hmmart:** Well, here's the next update._

_**Amanda:** Thanks._

_**the-power-of-love:** Thanks, here's more._

**Chapter 24**

"Ashley." Andros's voice muttered her name from somewhere in the darkness, startling her with its suddeness. "Follow me."

It was easy now to see that he had once been the leader of the Power Rangers, Ashley thought. The tone of his voice, though very quiet, left no room for argument, and she found herself following the order without a second thought.

"This way," Andros said, his voice little more than a whisper. His hand brushed against her side and she caught his fingers. She let him lead her down the halls without protest; she could find her way through her own home in the darkness, and there was no reason it should be any different for him.

"Where are we going?" she asked, careful to keep her voice low.

"Simudecks," Andros whispered back, pausing to feel for the corner he wanted. "You said the others were there."

"You think they're still there?"

"They should be," he answered, his fingers tightening gently over her own for a moment. He felt her relax, but he couldn't be sure whether the gesture had been for her comfort or his own. "If they're not, they can't have gotten far."

The lights snapped back on then without warning, effectively blinding both of them for several seconds. Ashley exhaled slowly in relief as she took in her surroundings, calming as her eyes readjusted themselves to the light.

"What--"

"Shh," Andros hissed suddenly, halting so abruptly Ashley walked straight into him. Holding her breath, she listened for whatever it was that he had heard, somewhat annoyed to realize that he was the one doing all the work, not because he was, but because she was doing little in the way of helping him.

In the tense quiet, Ashley could now hear what it was that had alarmed Andros. Quiet, measured footsteps echoed just auidibly against the floor. Ashley glanced at the corner to her left apprehensively and drew her blaster as silently as she could, not daring to do anything to give away their presence.

Andros tensed beside her, and Ashley jumped in surprise at the sound of an Astroblaster firing. She had forgotten Andros had been carrying the weapon, but was now immensely glad that he had been as she recognized the voice swearing profusely.

"Stand up," Andros snapped, his voice colder than Ashley thought possible a moment before. "Don't even move, Kale."

"That makes standing a challenge, doesn't it?" his brother drawled, laughter evident in his tone even as he lay sprawled on the floor bleeding from his shoulder. "Your orders need improvement."

Ashley felt Andros tremble with rage, and laid a hand on his shoulder, either to calm him or to hold him back should he move to attack. He was tense from head to toe, relaxing only slightly at her touch.

"Get up, Kale."

Ashley clenched her hand over Andros's shoulder when there was no answer, feeling him start forward. He strained against her hand for a moment and then his shoulders slumped forward as he ceased fighting.

"What have you done?" he demanded, his voice heavy. "Where are the others?"

"Oh, I'm sure they're around here somewhere," Kale said airily. Ashley could practically see his shrug. "I wasn't the one who turned the lights on, after all."

"What were you doing?"

"Telling would take the fun out of it," Kale smirked, thoroughly enjoying the mixture of helplessness and fury that marked Andros's face.

"Get up," Ashley snapped suddenly, striding across the corridor to haul Kale to his feet. He didn't protest as she dragged him up, though he did look mildly annoyed. "Answer the question."

"I don't take orders from you, yellow ranger," Kale snapped coldly. "Either of you."

"You do now," she retorted, twisting his injured arm savagely. "What were you doing?"

Kale tensed, and Ashley wasn't sure whether to be pleased with herself that she'd managed to hurt him. Pleased, she decided when she felt him test the strength of her hold on him.

"Andros! Ashley!"

Ashley knew better than to look in the direction TJ's voice had come from; Kale would certainly take advantage of her distraction. She tightened her grip on his wrists as the other rangers ran up to them, morphed and weapons drawn.

"What happened?" Zhane demanded, quickly scanning the scene in front of him. "Kale did this?"

"Yes," Andros said through clenched teeth, glaring furiously at his brother.

"You look surprised," Kale observed, wincing slightly as Ashley jerked his arm again.

"Why?" Karone demanded, passing Zhane a pair of cuffs. The silver ranger moved forward to secure Kale while Ashley held him still, her grip tightening on him as Zhane approached should he try to escape. Kale didn't protest as Zhane cuffed his right wrist, surprising them all by chuckling quietly as his left sleeve was pushed out of the way.

Andros felt his heart sink as both Zhane and Ashley tensed. Zhane's face was safetly hidden behind his helmet, but as he watched Ashley's face fill with confusion, fury, and then pity, he knew he wasn't going to like what came next.

"Where did you get this?" Ashley demanded, recovering from her shock first.

Kale lunged forward, twisting visciously. The cuffs still attatched to his right wrist whistled through the air as he spun, catching Ashley just her bottom lip. She cried out quietly in pain, her grip loosening. Kale smirked and flung her into Zhane, knocking both of them out of his way.

Andros had started forward the instant Kale had thrown Ashley to the side, but at the blinding flash of red, he stopped cold, slowly filled with dread as he realized what had happened.

Cosmos stood before them, his blood-red armor shining under the Megaship's lights.

Andros could only stare, the dull ache in his heart flaring to life as he realized that everything Kale had drilled into him had been his brother's own doing, yet he had managed to convince Andros that it was his with no effort at all. It was no wonder Kale was always laughing.

Carlos and TJ recovered first, and attacked, weapons raised. Cosmos dodged them easily, and with a laugh, vanished from the Megaship.

"Andros..."

Ashley raised one sleeve to her mouth and grimaced. Wiping the blood away as best she could, she took a step towards him, her hand reaching out for him. He stepped away before he could help himself, the look in her eyes telling him he didn't want to hear what she had to say.

"Andros," she said very quietly, her voice soft enough he doubted any of the others could hear her. "Andros, he... he has... on his arm..."

She stopped and swallowed, her soft brown eyes filled with compassion and sorrow. "Andros, he... he has your morpher."


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer:** Nope, not mine. Please don't sue.

_**A.R:** Sorry, that was the wrong chapter. I put up the real chapter 24 as soon as I realized it, but it took a few hours to show up. Hope you like it._

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Yes, you did. And you had the most disturbing reason for guessing, too:D_

_**TrueRomantic:** Yup, more reason to hate Kale. _

_**CSIMel:** You were thinking Kale was Cosmos? I was wondering who'd guess. :P_

_**Juzblue:** I fooled you:D Here's more..._

_**Lita Lightning:** Here ya go._

_**Mz. Daydream:** I thought all of you would have seen that one coming, but I think I fooled some people. You were my 200th reviewer, btw. :D_

_**hmmart:** Thanks. Here's more._

_**Jessica01:** More reason to hate Kale, but that's really all that there is._

_**Mel:** Yeah, Kale is Andros's brother. Andros didn't kill his parents, and I don't remember having a story that did... Kadri/Lyra stole Andros's morpher two years before this, so that's where Kale got it._

_**the-power-of-love:** Thanks, here's more._

_**Jenny:** I thought it was predictable too. :P Marieke's twisted mind figured it out at the most random moment of the story, you did, and so did DV2 and C.C.C, but that's all that I know of. Glad you liked the morpher thing._

_**Funky In Fishnet:** I love plot twists. A little too much sometimes, but it seemed to work out good here. :D_

_**C.C.C:** I thought that's what you were going to guess. :P Here's more._

_**Ashley:** Thanks. I e-mailed you some titles, and I hope you like the stories. _

**Chapter 25**

Andros only blinked. Ashley dragged her sleeve carefully across her lip again, watching his expression intently. What little remained of his carefully constructed defenses after his parents deaths had shattered now; one look into his clear hazel eyes revealed every emotion he was grappling with.

Hurt and betrayal, shame and mortification, fury and betrayal, and then confusion, so much confusion... Countless feeling flashed through his eyes as Andros held his face blank and his body stiff. The blood had drained from his pale face, leaving him completely white.

Ashley wondered briefly if he might actually pass out, but then quickly discarded the idea. Andros wasn't the fainting type, no matter how extreme his emotional overload.

"Andros?" She reached out to him again, laying a hand gently on his elbow. "Andros, I--"

Her voice jerked him out of his daze. Andros caught the arm resting on his and forced her back to where he could see her eyes. Sorrow and pity glared at him from behind her eyes, and he snapped.

He had trusted her, and she had betrayed him too. She didn't care for him; she only felt sorry for him. Ashley had been the first person in years he had let into his heart, the only person to whom he had ever bared his soul so completely, and it was all only to realize that she cared nothing for him. He was worthless to her.

"Don't touch me." Andros didn't recognize the low growl as his own voice until Ashley drew her hand back, watching him timidly.

"Andros--"

"Leave me alone."

"But--"

"I said, leave me **alone**!"

His his mind was struggling to grasp the events of the last few minutes and Andros didn't stop to think. With another growl, he shoved Ashley hard, sending her staggering back. He turned on his heel and strode down the corridor.

Some of his rage dimmed when he heard Ashley stumble into the bulkhead. He didn't turn, but the urge to was difficult to suppress. He hadn't really meant to do that, but it was too late to take it back. All he could do was hope that he hadn't hurt her.

But why should he care if he had, he wondered, pausing only to let his bedroom door slide open. He was just someone for her to pity. He was just someone to make her feel better about herself. He was just someone to need her. He was just...

Andros sighed and sank down onto his bunk, realizing that he wasn't angry with Ashley at all. She had just been standing so close, and it had been so easy to lash out at her instead of himself and Kale.

Cosmos, he corrected himself sternly, biting down hard on his lower lip. Kale was gone. His brother had never really been there in the first place, but Andros still felt his heart ache at the thought of losing him. Karone was all he had left now that his parents were dead.

He choked as his mind tried hard to sheild him from the truth. It was an obvious one, but one he would have given anything not to see. Wishing didn't change anything, though, and slowly, the facts sank through.

Kale was Cosmos. Adya and Kieran had been killed by Cosmos and Lyra. Adya and Kieran had been killed by Kale. Adya and Kieran had been killed by their own son.

Kale had taken everything from him, he realized dimly. His home, his powers, his parents, his first love, his second love... Andros felt the cry that ripped from his throat more than he heard it, a wordless scream of grief and anger.

His eyes landed on his dresser, scanning the photos that covered the top of it. Snatching up the ones Kale was in, he tore them from the frames and rushed across the room to the trash recepticle, not wanting to touch them. After a moment's thought, he shoved the frames down after them.

"Deca," he nearly shouted. "Get rid of these. You have to get rid of these."

"I will dispose of them," came the calm, almost soothing voice.

Andros only nodded. Kneeling, he tore out the bottom drawer of his dresser. Most of his civilian clothes from KO-35 had been Kale's first. He shoved them down the trash recepticle, frantically purging himself of anything Kale might have worn or owned or even been associated with.

His clothes and the photos gone, he concentrated on the few momentos he'd kept of his childhood. He felt a twinge of regret as he trashed the telekinesis ball he and Karone had learned on, but Kale had used it too. He couldn't keep it, couldn't taint himself with anything that reminded him of his parents killer.

"Andros?"

The voice on the other side of the door wasn't Ashley's, nor was it Karone's. Andros glanced up from his impromptu cleaning frenzy and cocked his head at the door, wondering what Cassie could probably want with him. Then he remembered nearly throwing Ashley into the bulkhead and winced.

"Let her in, Deca," he muttered, half expecting her to tell him he'd done Ashley some serious injury. Cassie's eyes were narrowed as she stepped into his room, but she didn't look ready to throttle him, either. "What do you want?"

"I told Ashley I'd check on you," Cassie said softly, leaning back against the doorway. "She wouldn't let Carlos and TJ stitch her lip until I did."

"Is she all right?" Andros asked anxiously, suddenly remembering how Cosmos had caught her full in the face with the cuffs.

"She's fine," Cassie said gently. "She only needs three stitches, and she won't even have a scar if it heals right."

"I didn't mean to push her," he blurted out, wondering why Cassie didn't look as surprised as he felt she should. "I didn't think--"

"I know," she interrupted, her voice still gentle and soothing. "Ashley knows that too. It's why she was worried about you."

"She's not," he muttered, forcing himself to remember that Ashley didn't care anything about him. "She doesn't care."

"Doesn't care?" Cassie repeated. "Andros, we had to drag her to the infirmary to keep her from coming after you! You're her friend. Of course she cares."

"I'm not her friend," he insisted. "I never wanted to be."

"You wanted to be more."

Andros was nodding before he realized what she'd said. "No," he exclaimed. "I don't."

"I think you do," she said quietly. "You trust her, don't you? More than you've trusted anyone in a long time. And she makes you happy, doesn't she?"

"Yes," he muttered. "But I--"

"You make her happy too," Cassie continued, effectively silencing his protests. "There's this look in her eyes whenever you're around. I don't know what it is, but she never look like that when she's with Ben. She never has."

"Of course she doesn't," he snapped, unsure of what to do with the sudden surge of hope he felt deep within himself. "She doesn't feel sorry for him."

Cassie blinked at him. "Andros, she wouldn't be a friend if she didn't feel for you... but that's not why she's your friend," she added hastily, watching his mouth open.

"It's... not?" Andros felt a twinge of guilt now, but firmly ignored it.

"Of course it's not," she exclaimed, clearly exasperated. "Andros, Ashley cares about you. She loves you whether you're a ranger or not, whether Cosmos is your brother or not, whether--"

"She loves me?" he demanded, his head snapping up. His heart sank when Cassie winced, and it took every ounce of self control not to gasp in shock as realization hit him hard.

He loved her. Andros didn't know when, or how, or even why. He hadn't known her for more than three and a half weeks, but he'd fallen in love with Ashley Hammond of Earth, and the knowledge that he would never have her cut him to the core. Even if she were to leave her boyfriend, she would never spare him more than a passing glance. She was too good for him, and he knew that he had never done a thing in his life to deserve her. He could accept that. He had to. He just didn't want to.

"I... I didn't mean..." Cassie's voice brought him out of his daze, and he stared at her blankly. "Andros... there's more than one kind of love."

"She doesn't love me," he stated calmly, feeling his hands and his heart clench. "It's all right. I wouldn't expect her to."

"Umm..." Cassie shifted awkwardly. "Y'know, why are we even talking about this? Ashley'll kill me if she finds out... I was just supposed to... Why'd you run so fast? I think I know, but--"

"You don't," he snapped. "You can't know."

Cassie arched an eyebrow at him. "Who were you angry with? Cosmos? Yourself?"

She did know, and he sighed, not wanting to say it. "Ashley, he mumbled. "I thought she... felt sorry for me."

"Andros, she's sorry you're hurting," Cassie explained. "She's not sorry for you. If you'll just go talk to her, she'll--"

"I don't want to talk to her," he said desperately. He couldn't do that, now that he knew. He couldn't ever let her talk to him alone again, for fear that he would do something to make her leave him forever.

Guilt stabbed at his heart. He shouldn't even be thinking about her, especially not now. His brother had killed his parents, and he had to deal with that first. He couldn't sit around and dwell on unrequited feelings for Ashley, not when he had so much work to do.

He had to get his morpher back somehow, once he knew what Cosmos wanted with it. He had to tell his people that it had been their own who had betrayed them.

"I have work to do," he said abruptly and pushed passed a bewildered Cassie. Without daring to look over his shoulder at her, Andros stalked off down the hall, his mind running on autopilot. When he was sure she wasn't going to follow him, he stopped, glancing up at Deca's blinking red eye.

"Deca," he said. "I want all the others on the bridge in five mintutes. Tell them that."

"Affirmative," Deca replied. "May I ask why?"

"Because I want them to be there," he said simply. "Tell them I'll explain more when they get there."

Deca blinked at him once in understanding. Andros turned and headed for the bridge, his shoulders set with determination. He was still the red ranger, after all, and it was past time he acted the part.

**Author's Note:** The seventeenth makes one year since I first posted "Out of the Darkness," and this is also the first time I've gotten 200 reviews for a story. :skips happily: Thanks to all of you for your reviews, you guys are the best!


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, never was. Don't sue me.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Of course Andros is still lacking some sense! If he had any, this wouldn't be a very long story! Hmm... I seem to write either Stupid Andros or Perfect Andros, don't I:P_

_**the-power-of-love:** Not ASAP, but the next chapter should be. :P_

_**Jessica01:** Most of my reviews are encouraging, or helpful in some way. I guess I'm lucky that way._

_**Mel:** Kadri became Lyra when she turned evil and killed her friends. Andros didn't kill his parents, his brother did. Maybe that's what you meant?_

_**Mz. Daydream:** He'll start getting closer to the rest of them, now that he's stopped sulking. He's not going after Cosmos/Kale alone. _

_**Vanillastar:** Thanks. I'm having so much fun with this story, so even if updates aren't exactly soon, they'll be there._

_**TrueRomantic:** Yeah, he's really dense. Andros will do something really, really stupid sometime soon, and probably a lot in the next two parts. :P_

_**Juzblue:** There's still about ten chapters, so I might get to 300... Andros goes back to action now, kinda._

_**Funky In Fishnet:** Andros is all done wallowing for now. Kale doesn't die painfully, at least nowhere near as painfully as he deserves. _

_**C.C.C:** Andros is a bit confused with Ashley for now, but he'll come around._

_**JDPhoenix:** Someone else thought Phantom, too. I was supposed to get rid of Ben in Chapter 6 or 7, but that so didnt happen. Before this story ends is all I can say now. And I promise to tell you every time I start another story, too. :P_

_**Maresia Eterna: **I feel so bad for Andros too. And then even worse for thinking up ideas that are so evil to him. :P I just want to hug him. :D_

_**hmmart:** It's okay, it took me longer to update than it did you to review. :P_

_**412816:** Sorry it took me so long. Schools' been crazy, but the next update will be sooner. _

**Chapter 26**

Andros let out a nervous breath, shooting apprehensive glances at the six rangers facing him. Karone and Zhane nodded him on encouragingly, while TJ and Carlos looked confused, and Cassie knowing. He carefully avoided glancing in Ashley's direction, still reeling emotionally from his earlier revelation.

"I, umm..." He stopped and cleared his throat, swallowing anxiously. "I owe you all an explanation."

"Andros--" Ashley and Karone spoke at once, and to his surprise, Andros felt himself fighting a smile.

"I do," he said as firmly as he could make himself. "You are all rangers, and you need to know. You need to know what Cosmos and Lyra are capable of."

"Andros," Karone broke in quickly, only to be interrupted once again.

"No, Karone," he said gently. "I--I need to do this."

When his twin opened her mouth to protest once again, Andros realized that she felt his distress. He shook his head at her, and she leaned back against Zhane uncertainly, worry clouding her clear blue eyes.

Andros took a deep breath, his throat constricting as he considered what he should tell them. Then he shook his head and sighed, knowing that he had to tell them everything. There was no way around it any longer; there would be too many holes in his story if he left out even the smallest details, and he would far rather tell them than have the truth dragged out of him.

That didn't much make the words any easier to say, as he soon found out. Concentrating hard on his boots, Andros calmly recited the story he had to tell, the evenness of his tone reflecting none of the raw pain that had coiled around his stomach.

It was agony to lay his soul bare, but Andros almost welcomed the feeling. If he didn't deserve it for causing the deaths of those he loved, he deserved it for being fool enough to believe that he had, so he grit his teeth and plowed through the story as best he could.

He tried to be as vague as possible in admitting that he had slept with Lyra, pointedly ignoring both Karone's sympathetic murmur and Zhane's growled curse. It was only then that he realized how much he was numbing himself to struggle through everything he had to say.

His boots blurred with the floor when he reached the point of Zeah's death at his own hands. Angrily blinking away his tears, he bit down on his lip until he tasted blood, but forced himself through the story. He would never be able to numb that pain away, he knew. Always lurking just out of sight, his guilt would never leave him, simply wait for the right moment to attack.

"And you know the rest," he said, wrapping it up at the point where Zhane and Karone had rescued them from Cosmos and Lyra at Dark Spectre's banquet that night only a month ago.

No one spoke a word, and for one insane, terrifying moment, Andros wondered if he had been speaking to himself all along. Swallowing, he raised his head slowly, relieved to see their stunned faces. They had heard him after all. As to what that mean, though, he wasn't sure he wanted to find out...

Then he felt two arms around his neck, and clung to his twin with the same strength with which she held him. She wouldn't be hugging him if she hated him, he decided, blinking furiously. He wasn't going to cry again. He couldn't; there was too much he had to do, too much he should have done years ago.

"Why didn't you **tell** us!" Karone demanded, nearly shouting. "What's **wrong** with you!"

"I..." Andros stuttered, surprised to hear himself chuckle weakly. Her arms were around his neck and she was crying into his shoulder, but he had never once seen her so furious.

"I didn't know how to," he said finally. The glare he received told him that she didn't believe him for an instant, but she said nothing.

"Next time, figure it out," Zhane told him shortly, coming forward to pull both him and Karone into his arms. Their sudden closeness made him painfully aware of how long he had gone without it. Andros shifted awkwardly within their arms, completely drained emotionally.

The arms around him vanished when he tensed. He stared at them helplessly, feeling that he ought to be saying something. Words refused to come, though, and he had to settle for an empty smile.

Someone--Andros suspected it was Carlos--cleared their throat, effectively drawing the attention of the three of them to the four other rangers who hovered awkwardly some distance away.

"If you guys need a minute," Ashley began, but Andros quickly shook his head.

"Stay," he insisted, just barely avoiding her gaze. "We'll talk later."

"You sure about that, man?" TJ asked. "We'll give you guys some space."

Andros shook his head another time. He didn't have the energy to deal with all the questions he knew Zhane and Karone would ask.

"No," he said firmly. "We have work to do. We have to find out what Cosmos wants with the morpher."

"That's obvious, isn't it?" Carlos put in. "I mean, he morphed, didn't he?"

"He..." Andros's voice died in his throat as he recalled the red light that had transformed Kale into Cosmos. "He couldn't..."

He dropped down into his seat with a quiet groan, glaring down at the console. When an arm wrapped around his shoulders, he sighed, knowing that it was Ashley at his side. He should pull away from her, he knew, but didn't have the will to force himself.

"We'll get it back," she assured him with a confidence that almost had him believing. "Now that we know what he wants with it, we can find a way."

He saw Cassie nodding her agreement out of the corner of his eye and felt a smile tug at his lips despite himself. He hadn't lost Zhane and Karone with his story after all. It appeared that he had gained a few friends as well, and that made his heart lighter than it had been in years. If he didn't have to bury them, he thought that these rangers might be able to fill the holes in his heart. Andros just wanted to be sure that he wouldn't have to bury them.

"Thanks," he whispered.

"Don't mention it."

Ashley gave his shoulder one last squeeze before pulling her arm away. He glanced up at her before he could stop himself, anger surging through him at the sight of the three stitches in her bottom lip. It was a small injury, but Andros doubted it had been painless to sew her lip back together.

"I'm fine," she assured him quietly, reading his expression. "The stitches will be out tomorrow."

Andros nodded uncertainly, and sighed. "I shouldn't have let him on this ship."

"You didn't know," Ashley said. "There was no way you could have."

"Yeah," Cassie agreed. "He could have been Cosmos for years. You wouldn't have thought to--"

"Centaur B," Andros exclaimed suddenly, eyes widening. "He knows where the rebels are."

"Deca, open connection to Centaur B," Zhane ordered brusquely. "They've got to get out of there."

Deca blinked at him in wordless acknowledgment. The viewing screen grew fuzzy, clearing as the underground base on Centaur B sharpened into focus. Andros sighed as he took in the smiles of his people, knowing that he was about to rob them of the only security they had known since KO-35 had been abandoned twi years before.

"Rangers." Kin Won greeted them with a smile. "I assume there is a reason for this call?"

"There is," Andros said heavily. "We have discovered Cosmos's identity. He... he is Karovan."

The old man sighed, turning his head to the side for a moment. "We had considered the possibility a time or two over the years," he said finally, facing them once again. "But I'm afraid we never considered it seriously. He is one of us, then. Here?"

"Not now," Andros assured him. "But he has been there."

"We will evacuate, then," Kin Won said decisively. "We have no other choice."

"We'll help--"

"The Earth needs you," Kin Won said firmly. "We will manage. Tell me, who is he?"

Andros let out a deep breath, his hand clenching into fists. "Kale."

Kin Won looked away again. "I am sorry," he said quietly. "There is no doubt?"

"None," Andros affirmed, somehow holding his voice steady and even. "Kale is Cosmos. He can't spy for Dark Spectre any longer; he'll be there soon."

Kin Won nodded. "We will be watching for him. I will inform everyone that we will be evacuating immediately."

"I'm sorry," Andros muttered.

"This was not your doing," Kin Won assured him, sighing. "I hope the next time we speak will be a happier one."

Andros nodded his agreement. "Goodbye."

The screen went black before once again showing the inky blackness of space. Andros stared blankly for a moment before sighing. Wishing things were different wasn't going to change them.

"Andros?"

"I'm fine," he said in answer to Ashley's unasked question.

"Don't worry about any of this," she said softly. "Everything will be okay."

Andros sighed and nodded, muttering something about wanting to be alone before fleeing the bridge. It wasn't until he was halfway down the corridor that he realized that this time, he believed her.

**Author's Note:** I'm so sorry for the long wait. School's been crazy, but I'm on break now, and updates should be pretty regular this week. I hope you liked it, please review.


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, not for profit, don't sue.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Some sense. Only some. :P And Jenny says to remind you about the Easter special.  
_

_**Juzblue:** It won't take him as long next time... and this was asap!_

_**JDPhoenix:** Now he has friends, sorta. :P Ben goes bye-bye soon, I swear._

_**412816:** Poor you. I don't have final exams until the end of next month. :P_

_**Jenny:** Yes, I remember my first Follow the Stars. That's the one where I updated every fifteen minutes and Marieke first threatened me with the Megazords. :P Update should be close together from now on, and then I'm posting random fluffy story until I get out of school. :D_

_**Slytherin-Angel44:** They're almost a couple, just a few more chapters. And there will be more for my romance themes... someday. :P_

_**Star Fata:** Yes, I can make it soon. I have to, or else part 1 goes on forever. Besides... I just love getting them distracted. :D_

_**Maresia Eterna:** Andros won't need a hug for awhile. He'll have Ashley. :D_

_**Mel:** I got to the update soon. It wasn't boring, it was funny. And you and Jenny both talked about Follow the Stars. :P_

_**TrueRomantic:** They'll work on getting along, and it'll mostly be all right._

_**C.C.C:** Yes, Andros will be back as a ranger when he gets his morpher back. _

_**Funky In Fishnet:** They'll get his morpher back, don't worry. Andros is supposed to be red ranger. _

_**hmmart:** I'm not sure if school's going well, exactly, but... here's an update. :P_

**Chapter 27**

"That was... intense," Cassie murmured, waiting until the Megalift had swallowed up Zhane and Karone before speaking.

Carlos nodded his agreement, running a hand through his thick hair. "Did Andros just say he... slept with Lyra?"

Ashley's glare came at him unexpectedly. "It's not something he's proud of," she told him sharply. "He really loved her, Carlos."

"Yeah, but... Lyra?"

"Yes, Lyra," she said impatiently. "Is this really important right now? We have other things to worry about. Getting that morpher back from Cosmos, for one."

Cassie shot her best friend a startled glance that Ashley pretended to ignore. "Yeah," she agreed slowly, frowning. "But how? We can't just sneak onto the Dark Fortress and ask for it."

"If Cosmos uses the morpher, his power must come from it," TJ said, troubled. "What we need is a way to... bait him."

"Andros," Carlos suggested. "Cosmos expects him to go after him. Maybe we could--"

"We can't use him like that," Ashley interrupted, shaking her head from side to side. "We can't risk his life."

"No," TJ said firmly. "We can't. Not until we--"

"We can't do it at all," Ashley nearly shouted. "We can't do that just because we don't want Cosmos to have the morpher. It's Andros's morpher, and we don't have the right to--"

"Whoa, Ash," Cassie cut in, wrapping an arm around the other girl's shoulders. "Let's go."

Cassie hauled her into the Megalift before Ashley had the chance to open her mouth again. The two girls glared at each other while the Megalift hummed to life, bringing them down to Megadeck One. Ashley's gaze softened some when the doors slid open, but Cassie's dark eyes remained narrowed as she looked her friend up and down.

"Sit," she ordered, shoving her into the Observatory.

"I--"

"Sit," Cassie said sternly, pushing her down onto the couch. Ashley glared, but sighed, the anger slowly leaving her face as she sank down to sit beside Cassie.

"Happy now?" she grumbled, wincing slightly as she heard herself. "Sorry," she muttered, groaning. "I just..."

"What was that about?" Cassie asked gently.

"You don't know how hard that was for him," she muttered, staring out into the stars. "You don't know how scared he was to tell even Zhane and Karone, and all Carlos got out of it was that Andros slept with Lyra!"

"I think he was just... surprised," Cassie said thoughtfully. "You know him way better than I do, but Andros... doesn't seem the type to be, um, experienced."

"No," Ashley admitted, torn between glaring and giggling. "He doesn't... But that's not the point!"

"What **is** the point, then?"

"I... don't know," Ashley sighed. "But the way you guys were talking about him... it was like he wasn't real. Like how he feels doesn't matter. He found out an hour ago that Cosmos is his **brother,** and you're ready to use him as bait."

"We shouldn't have," Cassie admitted, and Ashley relaxed. "It's just... hard to know how he feels, I guess. We don't really know him. You're the one he's let in."

"He wants to know the rest of you," Ashley said quietly. "Or else he wouldn't have told you."

Cassie nodded slowly, not having an answer to that. Ashley stared off into space, not speaking. She quickly took advantage of her friend's distraction, studying the other girl with narrowed eyes. It was just like Ashley to stick up for her friends, but something in the way she had reacted struck Cassie as odd.

"Ashley," she said slowly. "Are you... Do you... You have feelings for Andros, don't you?"

Ashley groaned, resting her chin in her palms. "I don't know," she mumbled. "He was hugging me before, and I thought... but he's never done anything that says he's interested in me, and... Ben..."

"Ash, when was the last time you talked to Ben?"

"A week ago," Ashley sighed. "I told him I needed to think."

"Did you?"

"Yeah."

"And..."

"And I don't know!" Ashley burst out. "I want him to love me, but whenever I think about it, everything I come up with says that he doesn't, and then I... I love him, Cassie, but if he loved me, would he be so jealous of all of you? Wouldn't he trust me? Wouldn't he kiss me without trying to get my clothes off?"

"Ash," Cassie said gently, "if this is how he treats you now, it won't get any better."

"I know," Ashley whispered. "I need to talk to him, don't I?"

"Yeah." Cassie nodded. "I think you do."

"Tomorrow," she decided, touching her lip with a sigh. "I don't want to explain this..."

"Ash?" Cassie asked, alarmed when Ashley's face crumpled. "Ash..."

"He doesn't love me," Ashley whispered, not quite managing to blink back her tears. "I know he doesn't, Cass. I know that if I went to him looking like this, he'd think I was ugly."

"Ash, that won't even scar," Cassie said soothingly, wrapping her arms around her crying friend. "You'll be healed by tomorrow."

"I know," Ashley assured her, letting out a shaky breath as she dried her eyes. "But Ben doesn't. And he wouldn't care."

"No," Cassie had to agree. "I don't think he would."

"He'd just find someone else," Ashley whispered. She bit down hard on her lip as she looked up at Cassie. "He already has, hasn't he?"

Cassie sighed. "Some people say he's had someone else for months."

"He just wanted sex, then," Ashley muttered, swiping at her fresh tears angrily. "He didn't want me."

"He's an idiot for it," Cassie said firmly, hugging her hard as Ashley struggled to bring herself under control. "Everyone should want you."

Ashley managed a weak smile. "Thanks, Cass."

"Anytime."

The two of them sat there in silence, the quiet broken only by Ashley's occasional sniffles. Cassie sighed softly, knowing the pain in Ashley's eyes all too well. She was trying hard to hide it, but she was heartbroken, and over someone so worthless, too. Ashley deserved so much better than someone who only wanted her body and would never love her.

"I have to talk to him," Ashley whispered, struggling away from Cassie and onto her feet. "I have to... I need to end this."

"Now?" Cassie asked, surprised. "I thought..."

Ashley did her best to shrug nonchalantly. "If I'm breaking up with him, it doesn't really matter what I look like, does it?"

"No," Cassie agreed. "I guess not."

"I'll see you later, then." Ashley sighed and headed for the door, pausing only when Cassie's voice followed her.

"Ash," she called. "Andros wouldn't care what you looked like, would he?"

"No," Ashley said softly. "I don't think he would."

Then she turned and headed for the Megalift, a weak grin breaking through her otherwise crestfallen expression.


	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Power Rangers and don't make any money from these stories.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Yup. Andros has no other purpose in life. :P_

_**Maresia Eterna:** You'll have to read and find out._

_**hmmart: **I like it, too. :P_

_**Star Fata:** You weren't bossy at all... you nailed this chapter. :P I think I'll give them a break this time when it comes to telling the other, but that's not just yet. _

_**hexgirl8604:** Thanks, and this really is soon. :D_

_**TrueRomantic:** Andros would MAYBE love her? He already does! He's just not planning on telling her. :P_

_**Jessica01:** Well, she tries to..._

_**DV2:** Yup, she did. Now we just need Andros to realize her feelings. _

_**Slytherin-Angel44:** They're not together just yet. Almost. :P_

_**Mz. Daydream:** Now they both have some sense... they just need to act on it. :D_

_**Jenny:** Of course he'd think she was beautiful anyway! Now... to get rid (kinda) of Ben._

_**Funky In Fishnet:** I love having them stick up for each other. Andros's morpher? You'll see in a chapter or two._

_**C.C.C:** Ashley has feelings for Andros, Andros is in love with Ashley... Now all they have to do is tell each other._

_**Mel:** I saw the whole thing again... I agree, Ben is an asshole. Andros's morpher has been missing since KO-35... so about two years._

_**the-power-of-love:** Thanks. Here's more._

_**Ashley:** Here's some more, sorry for the wait._

_**Tal:** Wow, thanks. Sorry this took so long, I hope it's worth the wait._

_**JDPhoenix:** Nope, it's not asking too much. The second part will take awhile, though. :P_

**Chapter 28**

Sternly telling herself that this was the right thing to do, Ashley rang the doorbell fixed to the side of Ben's front door. She heard the echo roll through the house and die away, but no one appeared to answer the door. A quick glance over her shoulder revealed that Ben's car was parked in the otherwise empty garage. Rolling her eyes, Ashley turned back to the door, ringing the bell again, and then again.

"I'm coming already!"

He was irritated already; she could hear it in his voice. Ashley highly doubted that his mood would improve any when she told him all the effort he had put into pressuring her was wasted. That should have been the first clue he didn't love her, she thought bitterly, marveling at how blind she had let herself become.

"What?" Ben snarled as he threw the front door open. "Oh... Ashley."

"Ben," she said coolly. "I need to talk to you."

"I thought you were thinking." He frowned, studying her coldly. "What happened to your face?"

Ashley touched her lip self-consciously, wincing as she accidentally put too much pressure on her swollen lip. Ben rolled his eyes impatiently when she didn't answer, and all doubts that she was making the wrong decision vanished.

"It doesn't matter," she informed him. "And I'm done thinking."

"That's nice," he said distractedly, glancing over his shoulder into the house. "Look, I'm kind of busy..."

"This will only take a minute," she said stiffly. "Look, Ben, this isn't... I can't be with you anymore."

That finally got his attention. Ashley wasn't sure what she should have been expecting, but she suspected that laughter wasn't the typical reaction when it came to breakups.

"You're not serious," he said finally. He cocked his head when she didn't answer, staring at her closely. "Ashley, this isn't funny."

"And I'm not joking," she snapped back. "I'm breaking up with you, Ben. You can get back to whatever you were doing," she added with a bitterness that took her aback. "I'm leaving."

"Ashley, wait." For the first time in months, uncertainty flickered across Ben's face. "Can we... talk about this?"

"I don't think--" She began to protest, but when Ben caught her elbow and tugged her the rest of the way into his house, she didn't fight him.

"Ashley, we've been together for a year," he said, his voice flooded with quiet anger. "Why would you just walk away from that?"

She sighed heavily and crossed her arms across her chest, inching back towards the door. "Because you want sex."

"I told you that months ago," Ben reminded her, his expression annoyed. "You said you weren't ready, and I said fine."

"Ben, the last time five times I've seen you, you've spent all your time trying to get my clothes off," she snapped, rolling her eyes. "You've never been fine with it, and that's why I'm leaving."

"Ashley..." Ben laid a hand almost gently on her shoulder, growling quietly with frustration when she recoiled. "Ashley, I love you. I've told you that."

"But you didn't **mean** it," she cried, forcefully yanking his hand away from her. "You just **said** it. There's a difference."

"I **did** mean it," he insisted. "I do mean it... I got a little carried away, that's all."

"A little carried away?" she repeated increduously. "You were going to undress me in a movie theater!"

"You weren't complaining," he defended himself. "And I stopped, didn't I?"

"Because I left," she retorted. "But that's not the point. I don't want to sleep with you, Ben, and you can't deal with that."

"So you're just leaving?"

"Yes."

Ashley turned on her heel, her hand closing over the cold metal of the doorknob. Twisting it hard, she stormed out of the door--only to stumble back when Ben nearly yanked her off of her feet.

"Hey," she yelped, grabbing ahold of the doorframe to steady herself. "What do you think you're doing?"

"You can't walk away from me," he growled. "Not like that."

"Don't do this, Ben," she pleaded quietly, her heart sinking deep into the pit of her stomach. "Don't make me hurt you."

"Hurt me?" he smirked. "No one needs to get hurt, Ashley."

"Ben, let me go." Ashley was beginning to feel ill. "Now."

He touched her cheek, trailing a finger down along her jaw. "Never."

"Fine."

Balling her hands, Ashley swung her fist straight into his jaw. Ben stumbled back, yelling in pain. Ignoring him, Ashley headed for the door, but he recovered more quickly than she expected. Pain shot through her head as he caught a handful of her hair and yanked hard. She stumbled, her eyes watering.

"You're not leaving."

"Yes, I am."

Ben grunted when her fist slammed into his gut, dropping back enough for Ashley to push past him and storm out of the door. She stormed down the drive, tensing when she heard footsteps behind her. Then the door slammed loudly, and she relaxed, beginning to run. Flying down the sidewalk, she stopped only when she ducked into the nearest alley, gasping for breath as she slapped at her communicator.

The Megaship surrounded her the instant the gold shower of sparkles faded, soothing in its familiarity. Ashley headed straight for her room, praying she could make it there without running into anyone. Cassie and Carlos especially she knew would grill her about her appearence, namely the tears the began to trickle down her cheeks the moment she knew she was safe.

"Ashley?"

Intent on locking herself in her room, she pointedly ignored the voice, but footsteps behind her followed her to her room. Sensing somehow that he wasn't about to turn and walk away, she turned her head and found herself staring into a pair of concerned hazel eyes.

"Ashley," Andros said softly, studying her expression uncertainly. "Are you okay?"

"No," she snapped. "I'm not."

Hurt flashed across his face before he could hide it. She opened her mouth to either apologize or tell him to go away, but he surprised her then. Reaching out, he pulled her into his arms, holding her close. Ashley sniffled, struggling desperately to pull herself together, but it was a losing battle. Her tears flowed as she buried her face in his shoulder, her arms tight around his neck. Andros didn't say another word for several minutes, but his presence alone was comforting.

"Ash," he whispered finally. "Do you... want me to stay with you?"

She tightened her arms around his neck and nodded, wondering how he could even think that she would want him to leave. One of his arms reached out past her to key open her door, and she felt him guiding her over to sit on her bed. Ashley sank down onto the mattress gratefully, surprised at how easy it was to cry on his shoulder.


	29. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Power Rangers.

_**Slytherin-Angel44:** This isn't soon, sorry, but updates should be more frequent now._

_**Mz. Daydream:** That's the way I like to see it, too. :D_

_**Mel:** The reviews have spell check? I totally thought that was just my browser. :P_

_**TrueRomantic:** Yes, BB is gone. For now..._

_**DizneeDol:** You're back:D Here's more._

_**JDPhoenix:** Andros takes a few more steps in the right direction here... Sorta. :P_

_**Star Fata:** Of course Andros is sweet and understanding! He's in love with her. :P_

_**Juzblue:** It would have been nice if she'd beaten him into a bloody pulp, but I don't think it would have worked so well. _

_**hmmart:** The thought occured to me, but the soap opera thing is why I didn't do it. :P That's not to say that there wasn't a girl in there, or that Ashley won't realize later that he was cheating on her._

_**C.C.C:** Andros is still being sweet here... if a bit conflicted. :P_

_**DarkHonda:** So do I. :D Which is why he's cute here, too..._

_**Funky In Fishnet:** Andros is still comforting her here... couldn't resist. :P_

_**Jenny:** My eighteenth birthday present? Well, the story I sent you wasn't the one you were supposed to get and it was late, so I guess that's okay. _

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** I finally updated! Is your brain happy now:P I have lots to show you next time I talk to you... remind me!_

_**Mita427:** Thanks. Here's more, sorry for the wait. _

**Chapter 29**

Vanilla. Her hair smelled of vanilla. Andros sighed to himself and shook his head, but it did little in way of clearing his thoughts. It felt so good just to hold her... It felt so good just to lay eyes on her, but to have her wrapped up in his arms, her body pressed against his, practically in his lap...

No. He shouldn't be thinking that. A quiet sniffle from Ashley quickly reminded him what he was doing in her room in the first place. He doubted very much that she would wanted him to stay with her if she'd known he would be lusting after her the entire time.

"I shouldn't be crying over him," Ashley muttered suddenly, offering a welcome reprieve from thoughts that were causing guilt to mount quickly within him. "It's so... stupid!"

"It's not," he tried to soothe her. "You love him."

"And he doesn't love me," she retorted angrily, wiping her eyes. "That's what makes it stupid. We were together for a year, and I was so... so blind! So... stupid."

"You're not stupid," he told her, with a vehemence that took both of them by surprise. "He was stupid," he added in a much milder tone. "He didn't deserve you."

He was relieved to see the ghost of a smile tug at Ashley's lips. "It's... nice of you to say that," she offered. "But we were both stupid. Look, Andros," she sighed, "it's really sweet of you to sit here with me. But you don't have to be here, and you don't have to say things like that because you're trying to make me feel better."

Ashley watched his face carefully as she spoke, and for a fleeting second, she would have sworn that she'd hurt him somehow. Then he shook his head and smiled shyly, hugging her closer.

"I meant it," he told her gently. "He didn't deserve you, Ash."

"He was the perfect boyfriend," she said quietly, studying the floor. "At first, anyway. He was so sweet, and it never bothered him much all those times there was a monster attack and I had to run off and give him some stupid excuse... He waited months before he did anything to make me realize that he wanted more. I thought he meant it when he said he'd wait."

She sighed. "Obviously, he didn't," she muttered. "Or else we wouldn't be here right now."

"It's his loss, then," Andros said firmly, feeling his conscience gnaw at him guiltily as thoughts that he definitely shouldn't be thinking danced through his mind. "He didn't deserve you."

"That's the third time you've said that," she noticed. She smiled a little as she realized, "You really did mean it."

"I told you I did," he said quietly, not quite meeting her eyes. He didn't look offended that she hadn't believed him, though, and Ashley relaxed, leaning back into his arms.

"Thanks," she murmured, resting her head against his shoulder. "You're easy to talk to, did you know that?"

He cast her a startled look, but saw no sign that she was being anything other than sincere. "I--I am?" he said uncertainly.

"Yeah," she said, a bit surprised herself. "You really are. Thanks for listening..."

Her voice trailed off then, and Andros watched her in confusion. Hesitation was written all over her face, and he knew she wanted to say something more, but he wasn't sure if she was trying to think of a tactful way to tell him to go or if it was something else entirely.

"Do you want me to go?" he asked, worried at her long silence. "I--"

"You can leave if you want to," she said, sounding a bit embarrassed with herself. "I didn't mean to keep you here for so long; you probably have work to do or something..."

"No," he assured her. "I don't."

He had to smile at the irony. To avoid her company in the past, he had buried himself beneath a mountain of unnecessary chores, and now that he truly did have work he needed to be doing, there was nowhere else he would rather be than here with her.

"You're lying," Ashley accused, and he didn't deny it. She made no move to release him, though, and Andros held her silently, dreading the moment that he would have to let her go.

"Are you going to be all right?" Andros touched her hair gently, almost certain that she would protest against what could only be described as a very intimate gesture. To his surprise, she didn't make a sound and he caught his breath, even daring to think that she had fallen deeper into his arms.

"Give me a few days." Ashley let out a deep breath in a sigh. "I--I loved him."

"You love him," he corrected softly. He was still stroking her hair, the motion almost automatic now.

"I don't want to," she muttered, twisting her head away from him until he couldn't see her expression any longer. "I want to love someone who loves me! Not someone who... just wants to have sex with me. I like being... passionate, I guess, but that's... not enough."

"You want love," he murmured in her ear. That wasn't so much to ask for. He would give her that if she ever allowed him to. Andros had to bludgeon down the sudden hope he felt welling within him. He doubted that she would ever let him, but if she did... Andros swallowed hard and vowed to himself that if he was ever that blessed, he would do anything and everything it took to make her happy, and more importantly, keep her safe and sound.

"Yeah," she whispered. "I want somebody to love me."

"Somebody will," Andros said quietly. He didn't dare say anything more for fear that he would somehow give himself away. Somehow, he didn't think confessing his love for her an hour after she had broken up with her boyfriend would go over too well with her.

"I know," she sighed. "I... never mind."

"What?" he prodded, watching her clam up. "You can tell me."

"It's silly, really," Ashley said, looking embarrassed with herself. "But... I love being in love. I love just having somebody to love."

"It's not silly," he said, startling both of them with the force behind his voice. Shrugging sheepishly, he admitted, "I do too."

"You do?" Ashley craned her neck to look up at him in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah." Andros frowned fiercely and stared at her with sad eyes. "I didn't know who she was."

"I didn't think you did," she said softly. "I didn't think you ever would have slept with her if you had. Sorry," she added sheepishly, watching him wince and realizing that wasn't the most tactful thing she could have said.

"It's okay." To her surprise, the palest ghost of a smile formed on his lips. "I wouldn't have. I... don't know what I would have done, but not... that."

Ashley giggled before she could help herself and then clapped a hand over her mouth in horror. "I'm so sorry," she blurted out. "Andros, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--"

"It's okay," he told her quickly. "I'm--I'm not upset."

"I shouldn't have laughed," Ashley insisted contritely. "You didn't laugh when I was telling you all about Ben..."

"It's okay," he repeated. "Really, Ashley. Don't worry."

Ashley smiled at him apologetically, but nodded, apparently willing to let the matter drop. He pulled her back into his arms without a second thought to anything but the overwhelming urge just to hold her, just to touch her in whatever way he was allowed.

"Andros?" Ashley whispered suddenly. Her tone was almost urgent, and Andros quickly turned his head to meet her eyes. She offered him a small smile, and despite the puffy redness of her eyes and her swollen lip, Andros felt his heart melting at the sight.

"Yeah?"

Ashley's smile grew, and then he was drowning in her eyes and not caring. "She didn't deserve you, either."

Andros caught his breath, for a moment not daring to believe he'd heard her right. He heard the allusion to his earlier words in hers, but he couldn't believe that she meant what she was saying. He was at least partially responsible for every life Lyra took, if not completely at fault, and yet Ashley was sitting there, her arms around his waist and a brilliant smile on her face, trying to take his guilt away when she could still be sobbing her heart out in his arms. Then he realized that Ashley meant every word she spoke, and he hugged her hard, nearly crushing her in his arms.

"Thank you," he breathed into her ear, his voice nothing but sincere. It was all he could say before his throat closed up. He had never before realized how desperate he had been to hear those words.

**Author's Note:** I'm so sorry for the wait. Unfortunately, school/real life has to come first. Eighteen more days and updates should be regular again. I hope you like the chapter, please review.


	30. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Power Rangers. I do not make any money from these stories.

_**JDPhoenix:** For the moment, Ashley is free of Ben. I do have a few ideas, but I haven't decided whether they'll be used or not._

_**TrueRomantic:** Ben will hang around for Andros to get pissed at. I haven't decided anything else for sure._

_**Mita427: **Here ya go. Updates will be quicker from now on._

_**Juzblue:** Glad you like._

_**Maresia Eterna:** He'll definitely do something stupid, I just don't know what yet. I loved writing them so close._

_**Slytherin-Angel44:** Oops. He wasn't supposed to be that needy. :P Oh well, they're cute. _

_**C.C.C:** I love it when he comforts her. :P Especially this time, when she was there for him so many times._

_**Jenny:** Yes, this is where the title came from. That first paragraph was my favorite too. :D_

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Not soon, but as soon as I could make it. You should love this. ;)_

_**Star Fata:** I was having so much fun with that scene. Glad you liked it._

_**hmmart:** Thanks. I think I did okay with school, and now I've got time to write. :P_

_**Ashley:** I'll update more often now that I'm out of school._

_**Funky In Fishnet:** They do need each other, and now that Ben's gone, they can admit it. :P_

_**Sasja:** Yay, another A/A fan! There's a ton of great A/A fics here, hope you read them all. :D_

_**the-power-of-love:** Here's more, I'm so sorry for the wait._

**Author's Note:** I'm so sorry for the long wait! Only a few more chapters to go, and they'll be up in a few days, I promise.

**Chapter 30**

Exhausted beyond words, Andros sank into the center seat behind the main bank of consoles, tilting his head back wearily. Far too much had happened in one day, and though he could accept each event on its own, it was an impossibility for him to absorb it all at once.

His numbness hadn't slipped by Karone and she'd urged him to get some sleep while she took over watch duty. When he had argued that just as much had happened to her, she had retorted that Deca was perfectly capable of monitoring the situation down on Earth on her own and the entire concept of him insisting that they keep their own watch was ridiculous in itself as well as a waste of their time. Andros had responded by stalking off without another word, leaving Zhane to comfort a frustrated Karone.

With a sigh, Andros tilted his head back and closed his eyes. Karone was completely correct and they both knew it. It had been his way of making himself feel useful and had quickly become a habit. Suddenly realizing just how much Zhane and Karone had humored him over the past year and a half, he groaned, disgusted to recognize that he had done little but wallow in self-pity from the moment he had woken up to find that the girl he loved was his archenemy.

_They gave up on you._ His eyes widened as comprehension dawned. For months, Zhane and Karone had dragged him about, forcing him to eat and shower, always insisting that he show up to spar with him, ignoring his claims that it was useless. When it had all stopped abruptly, he had been so eager to hide from them that he hadn't questioned it. Now, though, he wished he hadn't been so blind.

And Zeah, he wondered, had she given up on him too? He frowned fiercely, shaking his head. No, she hadn't, he decided firmly. She had been a constant presence at his side, irritatingly upbeat and constantly cheerful--much like Ashley had been from the moment Zhane had shoved her half-conscious into his arms.

His frown deepened as Ashley once again appeared unbidden in his thoughts. He had known Ashley Hammond for barely a month, yet in that short time, he had gone from remembering Zeah with a painful mixture of guilt and longing to constantly comparing her to Ashley.

He knew that wasn't right and yet he couldn't help himself, which confused him even further--there was no reason for him to choose between them, but it seemed that no matter what he did, he would inevitably be forced to do so. If he sought out a relationship with Ashley, he would be letting go of Zeah, forever this time. If he clung to memory, he would be pushing away the first person he had cared about in years. _But if I know I love Ashley, have I already let go?_

"Deca," he inquired abruptly, "have there been any disturbances recently?"

Deca blinked at him once. "None."

"Thanks," he muttered, feeling rather foolish now, however grateful he was for that temporary respite from his thoughts.

Andros let out a sigh, fidgeting in his seat. What was he even doing here, he wondered as he fiddled anxiously with the controls. Star charts and random data popped up on the viewing screen for a moment or two before he grew restless again and brought up another. He shouldn't be here, he decided as he glared at an image of the Sina system. He wasn't needed here. He was needed--_Oh._

So that was it. He sighed, all the extra energy flowing out of him in seconds. Of course the rangers couldn't allow Cosmos to continue wielding the power of the red Astromorpher, but Andros had a hunch that he was far more concerned with the matter than any of them--the power was **his**, after all, and somehow, he was going to get it back.

"Deca," he asked quietly, beginning to outline a plan in his mind. "Can you pinpoint the location of the Dark Fortress?"

"Not at this time," she replied, and he felt a small smile tug at his lips. It would be just like Deca to avoid at all costs the admission that there was anything she was incapable of.

Well... he didn't need to know exactly where the Dark Fortress was, he decided, his hands falling still on the console as he contemplated his options; just the general vicinity of her last appearance on radar and a handheld scanning device. With luck, he could leave and return before anyone noticed that he was gone. To the best of his knowledge, his glider was still in working order, but he could fix that easily. All that was missing was a way to keep himself protected during the journey. In other words: he needed a morph. Which without a morpher, he wasn't very likely to find.

He was chewing his lower lip, he realized in annoyance. Then he recalled catching a similar expression on Ashley's face whenever she was lost in thought. Andros smiled briefly, absently pushing stray hairs behind his ears as his thoughts drifted to Ashley. If he went to her for help, he didn't think she would turn him away... but if she went along with him, he would be risking her life along with his own, and that was a chance he had taken once and paid for dearly. No, he was going to do this on his own.

_Zhane!_

Andros brightened suddenly, hard pressed to keep himself in his seat as opposed to rushing out of the room eagerly to test out his theory. It was unlikely that the black or blue Astromorphers would respond to him--the Power responded sparingly to those that it hadn't chosen, and he was largely unacquainted with their chosen bearers, despite the fact that they were currently shipmates.

Yellow, pink, and violet he ruled out instantly, if for no other reason than he wouldn't be caught dead in the color. Besides, he had the distinct feeling that Cassie would rat him out to the others and as for Karone... he would rather not picture her reaction if she knew what he was up to.

Granted, he wasn't very fond of silver, either, but Zhane was the closest to him besides Karone, and he was also unlikely to object--too strenuously, anyway. Andros grinned as he remembered some of the predicaments Zhane had landed himself in back on KO-35 before sobering and turning his attention back to the matter at hand.

Of course, there was always the chance that Zhane--under Karone's influence, no doubt--would refuse to aid him, opting instead for some strategy that would without question involve everyone but Andros himself. That put him in the awkward position of borrowing his friend's powers first and explaining himself after. Unless, of course, he could fix things so he didn't need to...

Dismissing the idea that he wouldn't succeed, Andros let the plan take shape in his mind. Once he was certain that the rangers would be asleep, he would leave the Megaship and head for the Dark Fortress and find his way onboard. From there, there was the simple matter of locating Cosmos and waiting for the right moment to strike. It was obvious, really, he thought with a satisfied smile. He could go now, even, if he checked that Zhane was asleep before--

"Andros?"

Not tonight, apparently. Andros grimaced slightly as he turned his seat to face the black ranger. "Carlos, what are you doing up?"

"Looking for you." Carlos crossed his arms across his chest as he studied Andros, who had raised one eyebrow in surprise but otherwise hadn't responded. "You talked to Ash?"

"I--when?" Andros narrowed his eyes in confusion. "She told me she was tired."

Carlos rolled his eyes. "So you did talk to her."

"A few hours ago," he confirmed, a bit put off by the other's tone. Carlos sounded almost accusatory. "Why?"

"What's wrong with her?" Carlos asked, taking what would normally be Cassie's seat. "I'm worried about her. That's all."

"I--" Andros hesitated, sure that Ashley wouldn't be pleased with him if he chose to relate her entire afternoon, and settled for shrugging. "You should ask her."

"I did ask her," Carlos informed him. "She wouldn't talk to me."

Andros only blinked at him. "Then why should I?"

"Look, Andros," Carlos sighed, "I know that Ash broke up with Ben. We all know you like her, and, well..."

"And what?" Andros asked. Not entirely understanding the situation, he decided it might be best to let Carlos explain himself.

"Don't hurt her," Carlos finished. "That's all."

Now Andros understood. Vaguely, he could remember himself making similar threats to Zhane when he had first realized how close his best friend was to his sister--but he was very certain that Ashley was nothing like a sister to Carlos.

"I would never want to hurt her," he said finally, wondering if it would have been best to say nothing at all. "You didn't need to worry."

"I think I do," Carlos countered. "Ashley means a lot to me."

"I know she does," Andros said evenly. "But she means a lot to me, too, and I would never--"

"Are you sure?" Carlos pressed. "That story you told us earlier... that girl--"

"Her name was Zeah," Andros cut in, teeth grit. He now saw clearly where this conversation was headed and not about to let it. "I didn't enjoy killing her, if that's what you want to know."

"Whoa." Carlos held up both hands before Andros had the chance to say more. "I didn't mean that. Just--Ash is one of us, all right?"

"Sure," Andros said quietly as he stood rather stiffly. "I understand."

With that, he headed for the Megalift even more confused than he had been the moment before. He'd thought that Carlos would tell him to leave Ashley alone, but he hadn't; there had only been the warning that Ashley was "one of them."

One of what, exactly, he wondered, leaning back and letting the doors support his weight. Human? He was no less human than Ashley, but was certain that Carlos knew that. He was definitely not Terran, but was equally sure that Carlos wasn't concerned about that.

A ranger, maybe? Had Carlos been trying to tell him that without a morpher, he wasn't good enough for Ashley? He frowned, not certain that he'd come to the right conclusion, but for lack of a better one, it was the one that he stuck with.

It was just another reason he needed to go after Cosmos. Doing so tonight was out of the question; he needed to do some more planning, and it would have to wait until Deca gave him a general idea of where he could find the Dark Fortress--he wasn't going to go out and search at random, but Andros could almost feel the still-familiar weight of the Astromorpher around his wrist once again. He would have sworn that he could feel the Power coursing through his veins. It was only a matter of time now.


	31. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer:** Nope, not mine. Don't sue me.

_**Slytherin-Angel44:** Here it is! And fast, too. Well, almost. :D_

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Carlos wasn't meaning to be hateful, exactly... You'll see. Andros gets to be cute some more. ;-)_

_**Sasja:** Carlos is less of a jerk here. He explains himself, anyway. He is gorgeous--but Andros is way more gorgeous!_

_**JDPhoenix:** My thinking exactly with Andros. :D Carlos explains himself here, and as for how bad the invasion can go... Well, when you take Andros's suicidal tendencies and throw in the fact that he's all on his own and has emotional issues regarding the two people he's supposed to kill... pretty bad._

_**Jenny:** No offense taken. I see what you mean now that I think about it--it would have been better to put a chapter in between as a sort of transition. :sigh: Next time, then. :P_

_**C.C.C:** Carlos stops being a jerk here and explains what he meant. _

_**Funky In Fishnet:** Thanks:-) I hope I didn't make Carlos into too much of a jerk; I just needed him to say something that would make Andros even more convinced that he needed to go._

_**Mita427:** There will be some A/A action soon, I promise. _

_**DizneeDol:** He won't tell her in this story, sorry, but it won't be too long._

_**TrueRomantic:** He is and he should... but I think he's dumb enough not to. :P_

_**Star Fata:** Yeah, I like Andros slightly stupid. It's not just your brain, and Carlos explains what he meant._

_**Arwennicole:** Wow, thanks:D Here's more, and there will be more soon, I promise._

_**hmmart:** Thanks and so am I! Now I can write again. :D_

**Chapter 31**

"Andros."

Carlos greeted him with a curt nod as he entered the holding bay early the next morning. Remembering their conversation the night before, Andros frowned but mimicked the gesture nonetheless, keeping his expression carefully neutral. He caught TJ watching them with ill-disguised interest, but the blue ranger went on eating while Andros stepped over to the Synthetron and ordered himself some food.

"What is that?"

Andros glanced up in annoyance when Carlos motioned at his plate. "What's that?" he countered, indicating the black ranger's own breakfast with a sweep of his hand.

"Oatmeal."

Andros did nothing to indicate that he had even heard the answer, and Carlos didn't repeat himself. With a sigh, he trailed a spoon through the oatmeal while Andros proceeded to eat calmly and TJ rolled his eyes at the pair of them.

"Ketchup, anyone?" TJ was the one to break the tense silence, offering around the ketchup bottle. "Andros?"

"No, thanks," he replied coolly, his countenance belied by the white-knuckled grip he had on his fork.

"Well, I'm done," TJ announced. He stood and shot Carlos a look that said quite plainly that he wanted no part in this. "I'll see you guys later."

"Later," Carlos called after him before turning to Andros with a sigh.

The other had gone on eating silently and did nothing to suggest that he had noticed the departure of the blue ranger. He ignored Carlos's presence in a similar fashion, scowling down at his breakfast.

"Look, Andros..." Carlos sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry."

He watched Andros hesitate visibly, fork hovering in midair for a moment or two while Carlos waited and tried not to show his impatience. With a sigh, Andros carefully lowered the fork back down onto the plate and raised his head.

"I guess I was a little out of line last night." Carlos shrugged, offering Andros a nervous grin. "That's all."

Andros contemplated the apology for several seconds with a frown on his face. "You said Ashley was one of you," he stated finally, his tone chilly but rather hesitant.

"Yeah." Carlos shifted a bit uncomfortably on his stool. "She's family. That's all I meant."

"Family?" Andros sounded considerably warmer now. "So you're not--"

"Interested in her?" Carlos finished. He shook his head as he let out a short laugh. "We've tried that. Ashley and I are just friends."

The remaining tension melted away as Andros relaxed visibly. He even looked about ready to respond when Cassie breezed into the holding bay, chirping a greeting that seemed more befitting of Ashley.

"Morning," she said brightly, sliding onto the stool TJ had vacated a few minutes before. "You guys are up early."

"So are you," Carlos pointed out.

"Ashley and I are going shopping," Cassie informed him. "At least, I am... I still need to get her a birthday present."

"You've got a week," Carlos reminded her. "That's plenty of time."

Cassie just laughed at him. "This from the guy who gives gag gifts every year because he ran out of time to find a real birthday present."

"Birthday present?" Andros ventured, and then tried not to blush when Carlos and Cassie turned incredulous gazes on him.

"You don't know what that is?" Cassie asked, surprise evident in her voice. "Really?"

"Should I?"

"No, not really," Cassie admitted when Andros practically bristled defensively. "Here on Earth, most people have this tradition where we celebrate the day that we're born.'

"Oh." Andros frowned slightly, his expression turning puzzled. "Why?"

"We just do."

"Oh," Andros said again. "That's... nice."

"You should see your face," Cassie told him, laughing not unkindly. "You don't have to get it. There's probably a ton of things about KO-35 we wouldn't understand."

"Probably," he agreed, now looking rather intrigued. "What do you do, exactly?"

"Have a party," Carlos explained. "There's a birthday cake and everyone brings a present for whoever's birthday it happens to be."

"You'll see at Ashley's party," Cassie said when Andros still appeared slightly confused. "Which you and Zhane and Karone are coming to, by the way."

"We... are?" Andros glanced over at her nervously. "But--"

"No buts," Cassie informed him cheerfully. "Unless you've got a good reason, you're coming. Ashley would love it," she added with a grin.

Andros looked away before they could catch his blush, wondering just how they knew. "She would?"

"Yeah," Cassie said emphatically. "She would."

"I--Okay," he agreed uncertainly. "But--"

"No buts," Cassie repeated breezily. "You're coming, you're having fun, end of story."

"But--" Andros grinned when Cassie rolled her eyes. "What do I get her?" he finished seriously, frowning again. "I don't really understand how this works," he admitted.

"Something she'd like," Carlos told him, rather unhelpfully.

"Just get the first thing you see that reminds you of her," Cassie suggested. "It's what I always do--I'm horrible at thinking up gifts."

"I'll try," Andros said slowly, still uncertain. "Thanks."

"Don't worry about it so much," Cassie advised him. "It's not really that big of a deal... and Ashley will love it just that you're there."

"She will?" A small smile formed on his face at her words and he glanced away, biting down on his lower lip to suppress it. Cassie giggled, suddenly seeing what Ashley must.

"Yeah," she said firmly. "She will, and--"

"Morning, guys," came Ashley's voice, more subdued than usual but still lively.

"Good; you're up," Cassie said brightly. "We're going shopping, are you ready?"

"We are?" Ashley repeated. "But--"

"No buts," Cassie said for the third time that morning. "We're going shopping."

"I--Okay," Ashley agreed, catching Andros's eye and smiling faintly. "I'll wait until you're done. Morning, Andros."

"Hi," he said softly, carefully avoiding her gaze. "How are you feeling?"

Carlos thought he saw Ashley almost smile. "Better," she said after a brief pause. "Thanks."

Andros either didn't know how to answer that or chose not to. At any rate, Cassie pushed aside her now empty plate and stood, linking her arm through Ashley's.

"We'll see you guys later," she said cheerfully, giving Ashley's arm a tug to get her moving. "Bye."

"Bye," Ashley echoed, letting Cassie drag her out of the holding bay more than willingly. "See you later."

"You really do care about her," Carlos conceded, watching Andros follow Ashley with his eyes.

"Of course I do." Andros cast him an insulted look and Carlos rolled his eyes.

"Well, how were we supposed to know?" he defended himself. "You're not exactly the friendliest guy around, you know. I just don't want to see Ashley hurt."

"I'd never hurt her," Andros insisted.

"But if you do," Carlos warned, "I will hunt you down."

"Fair enough," Andros agreed, mostly for the sake of ending the argument but deciding that if he ever hurt Ashley that badly, he'd deserve whatever the black ranger had in store for him. "But I'd never hurt her."

"Right," Carlos said. "I know."

Andros sighed silently and turned his attention back to his food, now cold and unappetizing. While they weren't on as chilly terms as they had been the previous night, it was clear that Carlos didn't trust him. Andros took a sip of his drink, deciding that if he wasn't trusted, then there was no reason for him to trust any of them in return. Things might be improving, but he was largely on his own.

"I have to go," he announced abruptly, shoving his plate to the side and standing. Carlos called some sort of good-bye after him, but Andros wasn't listening. He had work to do, and the sooner he started, the sooner he had his morpher back.


	32. Chapter 32

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Power Rangers.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** He is and they should._

_**TrueRomantic:** Carlos was a little of a jerk, but some of it was probably Andros... He's starting to annoy me, and I'm writing it!_

_**Mel:** Carlos sees Ashley mostly as a friend/sister, but he does have a tiny crush on her. That wasn't what made him go off on Andros, though. He didn't want Andros making any moves on her the same day she broke up with her boyfriend._

_**Star Fata:** Ashley wasn't saying no to shopping; she just was a little surprised at being dragged off before she even had the chance to say good morning to everyone._

_**Sasja:** He does like her a little more than 'just friends,' but there really isn't anything between them._

_**Slytherin-Angel44:** Party's not until Part 2, sorry._

_**Tal:** No, he won't get killed. Sorry it was a little shorter than normal, there didn't seem to be anything in dragging that conversation out much longer._

_**the-power-of-love:** Here's more._

_**C.C.C:** Birthday present is a surprise. :P I don't think it's really wrong to have new boyfriend two weeks later, maybe a little fast? I wouldn't know, and everyone seems to have a different answer. :P_

_**hmmart:** Thanks. Andros realizing he's in love with Ashley is so much fun--since she has no clue. :D_

_**JDPhoenix:** He'll get her a present... but his ill-fated attempt to retrieve his morpher either got slightly more or less ill-fated, depending on how you look at it._

_**Jenny:** I'll have lots of fun writing the birthday party! Maybe switching bodies, and yeah, it would be very freaky._

_**Mz. Daydream:** Andros being a little paranoid and Carlos being a little overprotective was surprisingly fun to write... A little bit of a struggle between the two, but there's nothing that will ever set them against each other. _

_**Funky In Fishnet:** The birthday won't be until Part 2; some things need to happen before then._

_**Mita427:** Almost._

**Chapter 32**

Andros headed straight for the bridge upon leaving Carlos, his mind set on taking advantage of the absence of two rangers to begin all the preparations he needed to make before heading off in search of Cosmos. TJ, he knew, slept almost as late as Zhane, and Karone would most likely eat and then head for the Simudeck, giving him at least an hour before she thought to stop by and say good morning. He only hoped that Carlos would head down to Earth after he finished his oatmeal, or at least back to his room.

"Deca, can you get a lock on the Dark Fortress?"

"Negative," she replied calmly. "The Dark Fortress has not shown up on radar for some time now."

"How long?" he asked absently, tapping his fingers against the main console.

"Two weeks."

"Two weeks?" he repeated as a frown crossed his face. That was a setback--the Dark Fortress was unlikely to have remained in one place for so long unless there was a place to dock the ship, which as far as he knew, there wasn't. When not in orbit, the Megaship was in her hangar on the moon, and he was positive that it was the only one.

"They have to be somewhere," he reasoned aloud, and glanced up at Deca for confirmation. "They've been around in the last two weeks--Cosmos was here yesterday."

Deca didn't reply, and Andros blew out his breath in frustration, wondering what he was supposed to do now.

"Do another long-range scan, Deca," he ordered with a sigh. "See if you can... pinpoint where the Velocifighters are headed."

Deca blinked once at him in silent acknowledgment and Andros sat back in seat, fidgeting impatiently while he waited. It shouldn't be this difficult; he was sure that Cosmos and Lyra were expecting him to go after them, and he was equally sure that they wanted him to. He knew full well that there would be a trap set for him, and while he had every intention of going after them, he was determined that he wasn't going to walk straight into it.

"Anything?" he asked finally, glancing up hopefully.

Deca didn't reply right away, and he narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously, wondering if she had deliberately withheld information from him. She had always been more mother than computer to them all, and Andros had a strong hunch that his mother wouldn't have approved of his plan. His expression darkened angrily as he remembered that his brother had killed his own mother. He **had** to go after them; he couldn't let that go unpunished.

"Sector nine," she informed him finally. "An analysis of the Velocifighter flight patterns from the past few days reveals that they are more prominently situated there than any other sector of the Sol system."

"Thanks," he said distractedly, frowning as he considered that bit of information.

If he didn't run into any major setbacks, he estimated that he could leave the Megaship and arrive at the Dark Fortress in less than two hours if he traveled in realspace. Hyperspace would be much, much quicker, but he was more likely to fly straight past the Dark Fortress without her ever registering on his scanner if he opted for hyperspace.

It was settled, then. He'd leave the Megaship as soon as the other rangers were all in their rooms asleep, take his glider out into space and start scanning for the Dark Fortress, hopefully avoiding showing up on their radar or being spotted by Velocifighters. Once there, he would sneak aboard and head for the control room to start his search for Cosmos and Lyra, unless he ran into them sooner. He would hide his glider in a convenient location that was close by, knowing that he was likely to be making a quick escape.

Even he knew that it wasn't a very strong plan. There were too many things that could, and probably would go wrong. Still, it was the only plan he had, and no one else seemed very bothered by the fact that Cosmos was currently in possession of the red Astromorpher. Not even Zhane and Karone had proposed any sort of idea whatsoever.

"Where are Zhane and Karone, anyway?" he wondered aloud.

"They are currently on the Simudeck with Carlos," Deca replied.

"Thanks," he said again, and stood, heading for the Megalift. He might as well join them. The doors opened and shut with a soft hiss, and then he felt the familiar sensation that wasn't quite falling as the Megalift hummed into motion.

Andros knew that something was off the moment he entered the Simudeck. Karone was stretching her legs, but Zhane lay flat on his stomach and Carlos sat cross-legged alongside of him. All three were dressed in their warm-up suits, yet they formed a close circle on the ground, their heads bent together. He paused in the doorway, curious as to what they were talking about, but not wanting to barge in.

He was still hesitating when Carlos happened to glance up and take notice of him. "Andros!"

"What's going on?" He dropped to his knees between Carlos and Karone, glancing at each of them quizzically when no one made a move to answer. "What?"

"It's not important," Carlos said finally, and his casual tone would have been convincing if he hadn't waited a full minute to speak. "Just, you know, strategy sessions."

"Yeah," Karone agreed, straightening up and tucking her legs beneath her. "We were thinking about tag-teaming them."

"The monsters on the training sims, you mean?" Andros raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that what you always do?"

"Well, yeah, but since we do it all the time in battle anyway..." Karone floundered and shot a desperate glance at Zhane, who took over for her cheerfully.

"What she meant was that we're just trying to see how effective our strategies really are," Zhane said smoothly. "You know, compare and contrast."

Andros felt his a smile tug at his lips despite himself. "How do you do that?" he demanded of a grinning Zhane, before rolling his eyes and asking again, "What's going on?"

"It's really nothing," Karone insisted. "We were just... talking."

"About me," Andros concluded, and sighed. He should have expected it, should have seen it when they wouldn't include him in the conversation.

"Guess again," Zhane said brightly. "I can honestly say that we weren't talking about you."

"Cosmos, then," Andros said with another sigh. "Lyra. The morpher."

There was a silence, and then Zhane admitted grudgingly, "Okay, so you got some of it right."

"What's going on?" He repeated the question a third time, clearly irritated now. "The Power's mine. Just **tell** me!"

"Will you calm down?" Karone snapped, as annoyed as he. "Nothing's going on. We were just talking."

"Oh." Andros sighed and sat back, running his fingers through his hair. "Sorry."

"You should be," Karone told him, unapologetic. "If we had anything productive to say, we'd want you around for it."

"Sorry," he repeated a bit sheepishly. "So what were you thinking?"

"We either set a trap or storm the Dark Fortress." Carlos shook his head. "Both have too many potential setbacks."

"Yeah," he agreed uneasily. "What kind of trap were you thinking?"

"Dunno." Zhane shrugged. "But if we go with that, then we need bait, and that's risky. Besides, they'll probably be expecting something like that."

"I'm not so sure that they are," Andros countered, and sighed. He was so sure that they were expecting him, and he was going to plan around that. "But I don't want all of you sneaking onto the Dark Fortress. It isn't worth your lives."

"I say it is," Zhane disagreed. "Who has that power could make all the difference. It's not just our lives, Andros; it's everything."

"When you put it like that," Andros muttered. He hadn't thought of it that way. Just another reason to go, then, he decided firmly. "It can't wait, then."

"We'll have to plan first," Karone reasoned. "But I agree. The sooner, the better."

Andros could only hope that they didn't set off on this mission before he had his chance. He just couldn't lose anyone else that he loved, and it would kill him if they lost their lives because of the choices he had made. His own death wouldn't destroy anyone. They would mourn for him and then move on, eventually forgetting him completely. He frowned at the bleak picture his thoughts painted, but he knew it was true. They would have each other, while he would have no one.

"Andros?" A hand smacked his knee, and his head snapped up surprise. He glanced around to glare at the culprit, but Karone only smiled sweetly at him.

"What was that for?"

"You weren't listening."

"Oh." He sighed. "Sorry... What were you saying?"

"Never mind." Karone shook her head. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," he muttered. "I was just thinking."

"Ecliptor is attacking Angel Grove," Deca broke in. "The other rangers have been alerted."

"Let's go." Zhane jumped to his feet, Karone and Carlos only a split second behind them. "Let's rocket!"

Then they were gone, and Andros flopped down onto his back, drawing his knees up. As relieved as he was to find that they were worried after all, it only made his going alone more urgent. He couldn't take a chance with their lives.

His plan, while far from foolproof, would keep them safe. The only thing that truly made him uneasy was that for him to pull this off, he was essentially stealing his best friend's powers. If he was absolutely certain that he was coming back, he wouldn't feel so guilty, but while it was perfectly acceptable that he took a chance with his own life, he couldn't risk the team losing another ranger.

With a silent sigh, he pushed himself up, trying to think. He needed another way to get onto the Dark Fortress... Using a morpher had been the only plan he'd thought of so far, but he couldn't be that selfish, as he had realized the moment the rangers had teleported out...

He brightened. "Deca?"

"Yes, Andros?"

"If we were close enough, could you lock onto the teleportation signal on the Dark Fortress?"

"Such a signal is likely to be encrypted," Deca warned him. "Even if I could lock onto it, breaking in would be another matter entirely."

"Could you do it?" he demanded. "If you had the time?"

"It depends on the level of encryption--"

"Yes or no, Deca?"

A pause. "Yes."

"Good," he said, speaking more to himself now.

"Andros, I do not think--"

"I have to do this, Deca," he insisted, not giving her the chance to explain to him exactly why he shouldn't be doing this. "It's the only way I can get my morpher away from them without losing anyone else."

"I do not think you are making a wise decision," she finished.

"I don't care," he said simply. "Oh, and Deca? You don't know any of what I'm planning, understood?"

Deca made no reply, and satisfied that she wouldn't turn him in to any of the others, Andros leapt to his feet and headed out of the Simudeck. He had some more work to do.


	33. Chapter 33

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Power Rangers.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Yes, Andros is very good at thinking about Ashley at times when he's supposed to do other things._

_**Mz. Daydream:** I think your feeling was right. Andros did something really, really, really stupid._

_**Arwennicole:** When have I let everything be not okay? It just takes awhile. :D_

_**Star Fata:** Stupid is what I'd call him. :P_

_**JDPhoenix:** Sorry there was no Ashley last chapter. There will be lots of her soon._

_**Sasja:** I updated soon! I've been waiting six months to write this chapter. :P_

_**C.C.C:** Well, if I kill Andros, I've got nothing to fill up parts 2 and 3 with, so I think he has to come back alive... _

_**the-power-of-love:** I actually did update soon for once. :)_

_**TrueRomantic:** Be careful what you wish for. ;)_

**Chapter 33**

Tonight was the perfect night, Andros decided as he gave up on sleep. The rangers were all either asleep in their beds or spending the night elsewhere. He was ready. He had joined in the training sessions the others held each morning for almost at week now, stating simply that he wanted to be ready when they had his morpher back, and no one had questioned him.

Throwing back the sheets, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat for a moment, elbows on his knees and head in his hands. _I can do this._ Nodding quickly to convince himself, Andros stood and tugged at his shirt and pants, trying to smooth down the material that had wrinkled when he had tried to sleep.

It was only when he shrugged into his jacket that his heartbeat picked up, the reality of what he was about to do crashing down on him. He paused halfway to reaching for his boots, hesitating. Zhane and Karone would never forgive him if he died... Then he shook his head and grabbed his boots, sitting back on his bed to buckle them up. If they died, he would never forgive himself. He had to take this chance.

He grabbed a brush and ran it through his hair a few times, before setting the brush back on his dresser and pulling his hair away from his face. He secured it into a ponytail as he walked out of the door, not taking the time to wonder if this was the last time he would ever be back in his own room. He couldn't think like that if he wanted to live.

"Deca." He spoke quietly as he made his way through the halls. "Set a course for sector nine of this system immediately. Hyperrush three."

"Hyperrush three initiating now."

Deca didn't sound too thrilled with him, and he supposed he couldn't blame her for that. He had barred her from letting her tell anyone what he was up to, after all, and he knew that it was what she would have done under any other circumstances. He should have been grateful that she was watching out for him, and he really was. It was just that her caring always seemed to come at the most inconvenient times for him.

The holding bay was eerie and silent when he entered, the soft tapping of his feet against the metal floor the only sound. He headed straight for the red locker he hadn't so much as touched in two years. The door fell open with a soft click, and he reached in to grab the Astroblaster that still lay there. He wasn't quite sure what would happen when he fired it--after having gone so long without being fired, there was a slight chance of malfunction, but he knew better than to test it while still in the holding bay, and he wasn't about to go to the Simudeck.

His eyes landed on the Synthetron and hesitated. He knew that he would fight better if he ate a bit, but he wasn't sure that his stomach could handle it at the moment. Nervousness was beginning to build up within him, and he slowly paced back and forth across the room, wondering what he was supposed to do next.

Assuming that Deca could hack through the encryption codes protecting the teleportation signals before dawn, he would have no say in where he ended up. Inter-ship teleportation was separate from transferring from one completely different location to a ship. It wasn't as high a security concern, for one. Andros sighed, turning the Astroblaster over in his hands and hoping that he would at least land in a fairly secluded area of the ship.

"We have arrived at sector nine," Deca announced, startling him out of his thoughts.

"Then scan for the signal," he ordered. "Tap into it as quickly as you can."

"Scanning now."

Deca sounded even more reluctant now, and Andros felt a twinge of guilt. "Thanks," he muttered, toying with his blaster. "Tell me when you've got it."

He sighed, fidgeting anxiously as he waited. What was taking her so long? It was only a matter of time before the Dark Fortress picked up the Megaship on radar or they were spotted by approaching Velocifighters. They could always make a quick getaway, but then he would be stuck explaining why they were in enemy space in the first place, and he would never have the chance.

"Anything?" he asked finally. He tried not to let his impatience show, but heard some creep into his voice and winced, knowing that if he did manage to survive, he would be eating out for the next few weeks.

"Anything what?"

The blaster clattered to the floor as Andros started visibly. "Ashley," he gasped, stooping down to retrieve the blaster. "What are you doing here?"

"Couldn't sleep," she said with a shrug, a sheepish grin creeping across her face. "Ever since I was a kid, I've never been able to sleep the night before my birthday or Christmas. I know it's silly, but..."

She shrugged, and Andros just stared at her, nodding his head without really knowing why. She smiled at him and he almost melted, his mood turning sober quickly when he was struck with the urge to tell her how much she meant to him. He beat it down quickly, knowing that if he said anything now, he would lose the only chance he was going to have to go after Cosmos on his own.

"What are you doing up?" Ashley asked curiously, heading over to the Synthetron. "It's almost midnight."

"I was just--thinking." He stuttered a little, but he thought it slipped past her. "About... everything."

Ashley made a knowing face at him as she walked over with a glass of water in her hand. "You know it'll all be okay, Andros," she said softly, taking a small sip. "Just give us a few more days to come up with a working plan."

He nodded, hoping she would mistake what he knew had to be a suddenly guilty expression for one of uncertainty. "There's better things to drink if you want to get to sleep," he told her, quickly changing the subject. "Water wakes you up."

"I know." Ashley wrinkled her nose. "But Deca told me I was dehydrated."

"She did?" He shot a furtive glare at Deca's camera. "When?"

"Just now." Ashley made a face at her glass. "I probably am because of cheer squad on top of training and battles, but I didn't know she could tell just by looking."

"She can't," Andros said before he thought better of it. "It must be a... er, calibration error in her programming. I'll have to take a look at it in the morning. And you should get back to bed," he added. "It's late."

"Yeah." He thought Ashley looked at him a little strangely, but she waved and headed toward the door. "G'night."

"Night," he called back, waiting what he thought was a reasonable amount of time for her to walk away before turning to glare at Deca. "You couldn't have thought of something better than that?"

"You requested that I say nothing of what you are doing," she reminded him. "I did not," she added, as though he might not have realized it.

"That's not the point," he insisted. "I know what I'm doing, Deca."

"I disagree," she informed him. "I believe that your mind has been influenced by a combination of stress, guilt, and fear that is currently preventing you from thinking clearly."

"I'm thinking fine, Deca," he sighed. "Have you got anything?"

"Are you certain you want to do this?" she questioned by way of reply. "It is far riskier than--"

"You're wrong," he interjected, voice harsh. "I can't lose anyone else because of this, Deca. It's the only way. You can get me in?"

"Yes." He thought Deca almost sighed. "But I cannot predict where you will land, and I--"

"As soon as you get me in, get the Megaship out of here," he ordered, climbing to his feet. "I'll call my glider to get out."

"You are operating under the assumption that you will in fact retrieve your morpher," Deca warned him. "If this fails to be the case, you will be trapped."

"It won't fail," he insisted, frustrated with her persistent lack of confidence in him. Taking one last glance around the holding bay, he tensed his finger over the trigger of the Astroblaster and took a deep breath. "Now, Deca."

When he next blinked, he found himself standing on a ship utterly unfamiliar to him. The faces of the two people standing before him, however, were ones that he knew quite well. Falling into a fighting stance before they had completely recovered from their astonishment, he aimed the blaster squarely at Cosmos.

"I want my morpher," he said quietly. "Now."

"We figured as much when the Megaship showed up on our radar," Cosmos said, seemingly unbothered by the blaster pointed at his chest. "What we didn't figure was that you would be this..."

"Stupid?" Lyra suggested, fingers curling around her staff as it appeared.

Pushing their voices from his mind, Andros fired. He'd hoped the shot would be enough to force Cosmos to demorph, if that was the right word for it, but his brother threw himself to the side just in time. The shot blasted the wall instead, setting off a multitude of alarms.

Lyra sprang forward, kicking the blaster out of his hand and sending it flying through the air to drop loudly to the floor several feet away and unquestionably out of his reach. Staggering back, Andros fell into a defensive position instinctively, his hands coming up to block when her staff whistled through the air.

She tugged hard when he managed to get both hands on her staff and he fell forward, knocked off balance by the force she'd used. Lyra twisted around abruptly, flinging him to the ground when he lost the hold he had on her staff. Andros scrambled to his feet just in time to avoid the energy blast from the staff, ducking back down when a sword came at him out of nowhere. Apparently, Cosmos had recovered.

Knowing that remaining defensive would get him nowhere, he went on the offensive. His tornado kick was quick enough to force Lyra back for an instant, giving him a split second to go after Cosmos. He wasn't so lucky this time, though, as Cosmos caught the fist he threw. His next punch was no better. Frustrated, Andros threw his weight back and planted a foot in his opponent's stomach, wrenching his arms free as Cosmos hit the ground.

Unfortunately, he had ignored Lyra for just a moment too long, and the energy blast from her staff threw him back a half dozen feet. He clutched his chest with a groan, wincing in pain and unable to force himself back up onto his feet.

It was only when someone else hauled him up that it dawned on him that the room had filled with Quantrons, as well as Ecliptor, Elgar, and Darkonda. The alarms, he realized, were still shrieking. Silently, he cursed himself for setting them off with that shot, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

"That was disappointing," Lyra sniffed, brandishing her staff as she sauntered over to where the Qauntrons supported him. "I expected more from you, Andros."

"Take him to the prison bay," Cosmos ordered, turning to lead the way. "Follow me."

Andros struggled against the Quantrons when they forced him to walk, though he knew it would do him little good. He'd trapped himself nicely--even if he were able to pull free, he was surrounded by dozens of others who would catch him before he made it too far. Not only that, but he had nowhere to go.

His heart dropped down into his stomach when he was shoved through the cell doors. It was cramped and lit painfully bright, damp air filling his lungs the moment he breathed in. _Well, what did you expect?_ he demanded of himself, lashing out at Cosmos when he chained him to the wall just on general principle.

"Don't worry," Lyra assured him in a tone that did absolutely nothing to soothe his tense nerves. "We won't be killing you anytime soon, Andros. Not when there's so much that you know that could be useful to us."

"I won't tell you anything," he spat defiantly, praying that he was strong enough not to crack.

"You'll tell me what I want," she informed him calmly. "If I wanted you telling me that you wanted me more than anything you've ever wanted, you would be doing that in a few minutes."

He just stared at her. "I'll die before I say that."

"You wouldn't if it was what I wanted to hear," Lyra maintained with a smirk. "I know you too well. I know you like this," she continued, sliding a hand behind his head to tug almost playfully on his ponytail.

She slid off the red elastic band that held it in place and freed his hair to spill forward across his shoulders. Andros glowered at her when she ran her fingers through his hair, but otherwise didn't react.

"Maybe next time." She grinned widely at him. "As amusing as it would be, that's not what we want this time."

"We'll start with something simple." Cosmos leaned back against the wall, speaking almost casually. "The rangers. Tell me about them."

Andros glared steadily down at the floor, shifting his weight around uncomfortably. His arms were pulled straight up above him, and the chain was too short, forcing him to stand on the balls of his feet. It wasn't painful just yet, but he doubted he would be getting comfortable anytime soon.

Electricity crackled off on his right, and he turned his head before he thought better of it. The energy Lyra cradled in her hand was gone as soon as it had come, but the sadistic smile she flashed him was more than terrifying. He let his head fall forward again, wondering how long it would be before anyone even noticed that he wasn't where he should be.


	34. Chapter 34

**Disclaimer:** The Power Rangers aren't mine.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Yeah, Ashley to the rescue... :D_

_**Arwennicole:** Nothing too bad happens to Andros..._

_**TrueRomantic:** :laughs: So I can torture him all I want as long as he lives? Cool! And I figured Deca wasn't going to let him commit suicide without trying to stop him first._

_**Star Fata:** I'm stubborn too, although I haven't done anything nearly this stupid yet. :D_

_**JDPhoenix:** Andros's brother is very irked that his girlfriend is all touchy with Andros. And, yes you should be writing a sequel of some sort! Please?_

_**Sasja:** Yeah, I like torturing Andros a little. :D Nothing really happens here, though._

_**Tal:** I think it's sweet, too, but the people he was trying to save will see it a little differently. :D _

_**C.C.C:** He broke the record of stupidity that was previously set by him! Probably in one of my other fics... Okay, that's it, he's smart in my next story. :P_

_**the-power-of-love:** This one actually is soon! And I hope you had a happy birthday!_

_**Mita427:** Hope this is just as exciting..._

**Chapter 34**

Ashley crouched low on her glider, urging it to take on an even more impossible speed than it already had. She should have known that something was wrong the instant Deca's light had blinked on and the AI had asked if she cared for a drink of water, but when she had seen Andros just sitting there alone in the dark, she had thought that there was nothing more to it. So she had said good night and left, pausing when the sound of Andros's argument with Deca had floated down the hall to her ears.

A stationary blip appeared on her scanner, and she sped towards it, praying that it was the Dark Fortress. It had taken her a moment to figure out exactly what Andros was talking about, and she had rushed back into the room just in time to see him vanish in a shower of red sparkles.

_I should have called the others._ It was obvious now; she was all alone in enemy space, the bright yellow of her ranger suit practically flagging down Velocifighters. But she hadn't stopped to think before rushing for her glider, stopping just long enough to grab the handheld surveillance device that was now her only guide. Going after Andros and dragging him back to the Megaship alive and in one piece had taken priority, though she was almost positive she had shouted some orders at Deca regarding the rest of the team before throwing herself into the jump tubes.

The speck that was her glider was rapidly approaching what she thought was the Dark Fortress, but she had yet to lay eyes on the ship. This was beginning to make her nervous. It was unlikely that she hadn't been spotted, which meant it was likely that she was being watched, which meant she was likely walking into a trap.

_Just like Andros..._ Ashley pushed the thought from her mind, focusing her attention firmly on the scanner in her hand and the darkness of space around her. He was fine. He was alive. She wasn't going to be bringing back only his body. She just couldn't be.

Almost dropping the scanner, she choked, blinking rapidly to clear her eyes. On her glider in the middle of enemy space was **not** the best place to break down, she reminded herself sternly. There would be a time to cry later if she needed to. _And you won't need to!_

She couldn't lose Andros. Ashley couldn't explain what it was about him that was so... irreplaceable. She couldn't explain why the thought of never seeing him again threatened to send her entire world crashing down. It just did, and those feelings only made it more urgent that she find him in time.

A flash of motion ahead of her snapped her back to reality. Scolding herself for daydreaming at a time like this, Ashley quickly pulled herself together, and after a moment of indecision, sped after the Velocifighter. If she could just position herself so that the Quantron pilot couldn't see her if it glanced over shoulder... Ducking low on her glider, Ashley maneuvered herself over to just below and behind one wing, easily matching the Velocifighter for speed.

The blip on her scanner came into view, and Ashley was relieved to see that it was the Dark Fortress. It wasn't anything more than a fuzzy dot in the distance, but they were rapidly moving closer and even this far away, Ashley could see the distinctive green lines that outlined half of the ship.

Only a few minutes later, the Dark Fortress loomed directly in front of her, and in a split-second decision, Ashley leapt from her glider onto the Velocifighter as it flew smoothly through the bay doors. She latched onto the wing, flattening herself down low as the cockpit opened up with a small hiss and the Quantron disembarked.

Her heart was thudding in her ears, but the pilot didn't glance to the side and none of the Quantrons milling around just behind her took any notice of her presence, either. Ashley exhaled slowly and slumped back against the wing to collect her nerves.

Now that she'd managed to get herself in, all she needed to do was get Andros out. That posed a bit of a problem, she realized, chewing anxiously on her bottom lip. Ashley hadn't the faintest clue where to start searching, and she was going to have to stick to the more secluded areas of the ship until she had a general idea of where she was and where she was going. Sighing quietly, she shook her head, knowing that she was making up a plan as she went along, and while it seemed to be working out for her so far, this was unquestionably the most nerve-wracking experience she'd ever had.

Ashley waited only a moment more before swinging her legs over the side and pushing herself down. The maintenance crew wouldn't wait long before starting work, and she hadn't come this far to be caught now. Landing almost silently between the Velocifighter and the wall, Ashley darted off into the shadows. She had to hurry.

**---**

The bright yellow-white lightning twisting and twining around his body vanished as quickly as it had appeared when Lyra called it back. Andros felt his knees almost buckle and groaned aloud at the extra strain it put on his arms. Wincing, he forced his legs to support him, even trying unsuccessfully to lean back against the wall for leverage. Lyra watched him squirm around uncomfortably, laughing in genuine amusement when he tugged on the chain that pulled his wrists up.

"It didn't work the last time you tried that," she reminded him, twirling the longer strands of her hair between her fingers while she studied him. "But keep trying. I'm sure you'll pull yourself free eventually."

Andros scowled at her before he let his head slump forward again, wincing as he felt sweat drip into the gash just above his left eye. The wound was more for show than anything else; it wasn't long or deep enough to scar or cause him to bleed dangerously, but there was still enough blood to drip down into his eye and it stung furiously.

"Maybe we'll ransom you back to the rangers," Cosmos mused thoughtfully. "I'm sure Karone, at least, would be willing to give anything we asked of her to save the last member of her family still living."

Andros gaped at him in disbelief. "They wouldn't be dead if you hadn't killed them!"

"They were against me," Cosmos told him coldly. "It didn't matter who they were in relation to me; someone had to kill them and no one had. Now, what do we offer to trade Karone for you?"

"Well, the purple Astromorpher seems like a logical choice," Lyra declared brightly. "I'm sure she feels you're worth it, Andros."

"She's smarter than that," Andros said dully, blinking in annoyance as blood continued to trickle down his face. "It won't work."

"Oh, I think it will," Lyra disagreed. "Karone would never be heartless enough to let her twin brother die slowly, helplessly... I don't care much for purple, though."

"You already had a morpher," Andros growled, trying very hard to believe that he hadn't cost the team another ranger after all. "You betrayed us."

"Betrayal implies disloyalty." Lyra shrugged. "I had no allegiance to you."

"How can you say that?" he demanded, stunned to hear the words despite the niggling voice in the back of his mind that told him he shouldn't have expected anything else. "You trained with us every day for six years and you fought with us!"

"I had a mission," she informed him coolly. "That's all any of you were to me."

The sting that followed her words caught Andros by surprise. He thought he'd known that. He **should** have known that, if not when he'd woken up to see Lyra's wrath staff aimed squarely at his chest then definitely the moment he had stumbled across the bloodied bodies of half his teammates.

His face must have shown much more than he'd wanted it to, for Lyra laughed quietly and shook her head. "You can't expect me to believe that you still thought I actually loved you."

Andros didn't respond, clenching his teeth and glaring down at the floor instead. As much as he hated himself for it now, she had still been his first love. She had been his first everything, and though he hadn't admitted it to himself until just now, some small part of him had hoped that had meant something to her.

"You were just a mission to me," Lyra repeated softly, mirth in her tone as she added, "and an annoying one at that, even if you were particularly amusing to me."

That hurt too, and Andros berated himself for it in self-disgust. She had used him, killed his teammates, ripped the girl who actually had loved him almost to shreds, and killed his parents, not to mention that she clearly taking great pleasure in telling him repeatedly that he had meant nothing to her. He shouldn't have expected anything different from her, and it irked him to no end that he had.

"Poor baby," Lyra cooed, correctly reading his expression and grinning widely when Andros glared daggers at her. "If it makes you feel any better, you would have been a halfway decent--"

"Lyra." Cosmos interrupted her loudly and Andros stared in disbelief, almost thinking he'd heard jealousy in the other's voice. "Someone will notice he's gone soon."

"Right," Lyra agreed. "Are you sure you want to trade for him? It would be so much more fun this way..."

"I want him off of my ship," Cosmos growled. "As soon as possible."

"Right," she said again, though her frown was almost a pout. "How much do you think they'd give for him?"

"Karone would give her morpher," Cosmos said. "I know she would, and we could get something from Zhane and the yellow ranger as well."

"The yellow ranger?" Lyra's lips quirked in amusement. "Another one? Is this a fetish or have the pink rangers all been unattractive?"

"Leave Ashley out of this," Andros snapped, opting to ignore the latter half of what she had just said.

"The best way to hurt you is to hurt the ones around you," Lyra explained patiently. "So, no, I don't think I'll be doing that... I'll get the rangers on the comm, then," she said to Cosmos. "Let them worry for a bit before we tell them what we'll take in exchange for losing his such... entertaining company."

Cosmos nodded once in acknowledgment of her words. She flipped her hair out of the way and strolled out the door while they both watched, neither so much as glancing towards the other for several minutes after the door had shut behind her.

Andros sighed and tugged hopelessly at the chains, rising higher onto his toes to ease the pressure on his arms. He closed his eyes and tried not to imagine what Lyra and Cosmos were going to cost the rangers--what **he** had cost the rangers when all he had wanted to do was keep them safe.

Footsteps approached him and he opened his eyes reluctantly, blinking just in time to see the fist that slammed into his right eye coming at him. He grunted in pain, jerking his head to the side to avoid another black eye.

"I should tear you apart," Cosmos spat at him, driving the hilt of his sword hard into Andros's stomach.

Andros groaned and coughed while his body strained to double up but the chains fixed to his wrists held him upright. "What for?" he demanded when he could speak again. "You have no reason to want to!"

"I have every reason," Cosmos growled. "Lyra is mine."

"I don't want her!" Andros exclaimed, his head coming up in shock. "I haven't for years."

"I don't care." Cosmos was silent for a long moment and Andros wished that he could see his brother's face, but the helmet he wore made that an impossibility. "You did enough already."

"What are you talking about?" Andros almost rolled his eyes. "You're the one who stole the morpher."

"Because it should have been mine," Cosmos snapped back. "Everyone thought that it would have been me--no one expected you to be chosen at all, much less to be the red ranger. That should have been mine."

"So you could do this with it?" Andros looked at him incredulously. "Besides, it's the Power that chooses."

"Normally, yes," Cosmos agreed. "But with a little... persuasion, it will answer to anyone."

"What did you do?" Andros demanded. The Power didn't work like that; it wasn't supposed to, at least. If Cosmos had manipulated the Power somehow... he wasn't sure what he would do then.

"It doesn't matter," Cosmos said, waving a hand through the air dismissively. "It's mine now."

"It's not," Andros insisted. "It's mine."

"I paid more than enough for it," Cosmos hissed. "That makes it mine."

"It doesn't, because it's mine and you took it," Andros retorted. "And what do you mean you paid for it? You killed half my team for fun!"

"You slept with Lyra," Cosmos shouted in return. "She's **my** bondmate!"

"I didn't know that!" Andros insisted. "It wasn't something I thought to ask her!"

"Do you know how long I had to wait just to kiss her because of you?" Cosmos demanded, catching him in the gut again with the hilt of his sword. "Years! I knew the moment I saw her who she was, but because of you--"

"What are you talking about?" Andros cut in, gasping slightly. "She just said that she had a mission and that's all any of those years were to her!"

"She lied."

Cosmos made to hit him again and Andros bent his knees as best he could, wrapping the chain around his hands and leaping into the air. The muscles in his arms screamed in protest but he pushed the pain from his mind and planted both his feet into his brother's chest, forcing him back several feet. The momentum slammed Andros back into the wall and he winced in pain, shaking himself free of it when Cosmos drew his sword.

"I didn't meet her until she had been on KO-35 for three years already," Cosmos informed him. "It didn't take long for her to realize who I was, either, but she was a ranger and I was already part of Dark Spectre's army."

"How tragic." Andros shot him what he hoped was a withering look. It must have been enough, for a moment later, he was leaping up again to kick away the sword whistling through the air towards him.

"Be quiet," Cosmos hissed at him. "I'm not done yet."

"I know the story," Andros snapped. "I was the one who ended up in the middle of it, remember?"

"This isn't about you!" Cosmos thundered. "She never loved you! I told her to do whatever she had to do to get me that morpher, and she did! You didn't mean anything to her!"

Andros bit down on his tongue to keep himself from pointing out that Cosmos was contradicting himself, deciding to refrain from mentioning that the fact that he had waited until Lyra was out of the room to broach the subject hadn't escaped his notice either.

So Cosmos and Lyra were bondmates. He'd suspected as much, of course; they all had, but Andros had never been able to fathom why Lyra would go so far as sleeping with him if she had already bonded herself to someone else. He hadn't known that it was even possible to betray a bondmate that way, but clearly it was--unless she hadn't bonded herself to Cosmos until after... That would explain both how it was possible and why Cosmos was acting so... jealous.

"I don't want her," he said aloud. "I came here for my morpher."

"It's mine," Cosmos maintained stubbornly and Andros sighed. This argument seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't figure out quite how.

"It--"

An explosion from the hall rocked the walls and effectively drowned out the rest of his sentence. Andros and Cosmos glanced at the door in equal alarm when it slid open and Lyra appeared, her back to them but clearly wielding her staff. A moment later, she had backed up into the cell completely, her opponent little more than a blur of yellow battling not only her but a half dozen Quantrons.

_Ashley!_ Andros stared in astonishment, unable to comprehend what she could possibly be doing on the Dark Fortress yet it couldn't be anyone else--and she was winning. Even with the low doorways, she had enough room to flip forward into the cell, landing on her feet and whirling before Lyra had turned to face her.

"Are you okay?" she demanded without turning to look at him.

"I'm fine," he said automatically, his heart beginning to pound in both trepidation and hope. If she didn't get him out of here, he knew he would watch her die.

Andros threw himself forward when Cosmos grabbed his sword, his legs reaching just far enough to knock Cosmos off of his feet. Ashley planted a foot in Lyra's stomach and whirled around, firing her Star Slinger at the chains restraining him.

Andros forced himself to hold perfectly still when the first shot missed and she tried again, knowing that she would be more likely to hit him if he was moving around but unable to help the feeling that he shouldn't just stand there and let her shoot at him.

Then he felt his arms drop and he threw himself at Cosmos without second thought, tackling him. They both went down and Andros struggled to hold him there while Ashley was kept busy with Lyra.

"Hurry!" he shouted, his arms too tired to hold him for much longer. "Ash, I need you to shoot him."

"What do you think I'm--" Ashley grunted when she took Lyra's staff hard in the stomach but recovered quickly, grabbing the middle of the staff and throwing Lyra to the side. "Trying to do?" she finished, ducking when Lyra swung at her.

Crouching low, Ashley fired her Star Slinger several times in succession before she was forced to leap back up and deal with Lyra. Andros heard Cosmos cry out and knew that all her shots had hit, but nothing was happening... He caught his breath when the blood-red armor Cosmos wore suddenly brightened, lunging for his left arm the instant it vanished completely.

Cosmos tried to yank his arm away, but Ashley's attack had weakened him. Andros's hand closed over the Astromorpher Cosmos wore, ripping it away and leaping to his feet. He thought he felt one of his ankles twinge at the motion, but adrenaline was pounding through him and he couldn't be sure which one. As he slipped the morpher back over his own wrist, though, any injuries he had accquired seemed unimportant.

"Andros!" Ashley shouted, throwing herself between him and Cosmos and grabbing ahold of his arms. "Hurry up!"

"Right," he agreed, slightly dazed. Snapping out of it, he flipped open the catch on the morpher and shouted, "Let's rocket!"


	35. Chapter 35

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Never was, never will be. Get over it.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Well, they got out. Everyone can yell at him next chapter. :D_

_**Star Fata:** Ashley won't hit him for being suicidal. I'll leave that for someone else. :D_

_**JDPhoenix:** You guessed right--Andros has some problems with the morpher. Of course Ashley rescued him! No one else would be quite as fun. Hehe._

_**the-power-of-love:** He's the red ranger now..._

_**C.C.C:** Ash saving him is the best part of writing Andros with stupid suicidal tendencies. :P_

_**Mz. Daydream:** It was supposed to be around chapter 20 or something, but I got way sidetracked. Hehe._

**Chapter 35**

Nothing happened. Andros stood frozen on the spot, staring down expectantly at his wrist. _Nothing happened._ He swallowed against the lump rapidly forming in his throat as it dawned on him that it had all been for nothing. It wasn't working, and he'd gotten both himself and Ashley killed for nothing.

"Andros!" Ashley screamed out a warning that he heard just in time.

He threw himself out of the way when Cosmos lunged for him, ducking when Lyra came at him from his other side. _It didn't work. _Cosmos swung at him and he caught his fist, twisting around and throwing Cosmos forward over his shoulder. _Why won't it work?_

"Try it again," Ashley encouraged him, blocking Lyra when she went to attack him from behind. "Hurry!"

Andros was already doubting that he would ever feel the Power respond to him again but he nodded nonetheless, not knowing what else he could do. "Let's rocket!" he shouted another time, closing his eyes and waiting.

For an instant, he thought he felt it spark within him and caught his breath, not daring to move just in case it really was there. He knew that Ashley was covering for him and sighed, knowing that he should just give up for now and help her out already when he felt it again, stronger this time and he was certain that it was there.

"Come on," he muttered, wincing when he heard Ashley cry out in pain. "Hurry..."

Fire shot through his veins and he heard himself cry out, stumbling back into the wall. It had never done that before, but before he had the chance to wonder what Cosmos had done to the Power, his vision flared bright red. Dazed, he blinked and tried to clear his head, wondering why the room seemed darker now.

"Andros!" Ashley yelped when Cosmos tossed her back into the wall. "I could use some help here..."

"Help?" he repeated slowly. His tongue felt heavy in his mouth, the words fuzzy as they emerged. Why was he so sluggish?

"Andros!"

"Oh! Right!" He snapped back into motion when she shouted again, jumping between Cosmos and Ashley as his arms came up to block automatically. He was completely on instinct now, his mind somewhere else and refusing to operate properly.

"Spiral Saber," he muttered absently, flattening himself to the ground as Lyra's hurricane kick whizzed by overhead. The words left his mouth unconsciously and he silently kicked himself for calling on the weapon when his morph wouldn't even appear...

He leapt back up to block her next kick and it was then that it dawned on him that his fingers were gripping something. He glanced over at his hand curiously, blinking in confusion when he saw a white-gloved fist wrapped around what was unmistakably the handle of his Spiral Saber. Andros looked down at himself and felt his eyes widen in disbelief when he saw the five colored blocks across his chest. His feet were in white boots as well, and he distinctly remembered slipping into his black uniform boots.

_It worked... It worked! _And he was just standing there staring at himself, he realized, while Ashley was struggling to hold her own against both Cosmos and Lyra, as well as the occasional Quantron wandering in from the hall. Shaking off the last of his sluggishness, Andros raised his saber and fell into a fighting stance at her side, covering her as the Star Slinger left her back wide open to attack.

"We've got to get out of here!" Ashley shouted, kneeing Lyra hard in the stomach and throwing her back into Cosmos. "This place will fill up with Quantrons in a minute!"

She was right; he was surprised that the cell wasn't already swarming with them. There had been a good half dozen outside the door a moment before, but clearly she had destroyed them and if she had been quiet enough when sneaking in, there was still a chance that they could escape without fighting their way there.

"Let's go!" He grabbed her arm as they ran out of the door and pushed her through first, his free hand reaching for his Astroblaster. "Spiral Saber booster mode," he muttered, firing once into the cell. He didn't bother to look back and see whether he had hit either of them, instead hoping that he'd bought them just enough time to get away.

"Come on." Ashley tugged at his arm, pulling him along. "I think we can get out the way I came in if we hurry."

He nodded and followed her at a run, tensed to fight. Ashley veered off to the side, pulling him away from the main hall. Andros stared at her in surprise when she dropped out of sight down an access ladder but followed without a second thought, his mind barely registering that the hall behind them had been clear. They might make it out alive after all...

Ashley had paused to wait for him, her Star Slinger gone but her Astroblaster ready to fire. "This way," she hissed, motioning with her arm. "We don't have much time before they find us. Hurry."

Andros nodded and took off after her, everything around them strangely quiet. He expected at any moment to be ambushed by Quantrons, or worse, Ecliptor and Darkonda, but the lower levels of the ship were almost completely deserted and Ashley appeared to know exactly where she was going. What little backtracking they had to do was due to nearly stumbling across small groups of Quantrons marching through the halls, clearly searching but not alert enough to catch them without stumbling across them accidentally.

Ashley ducked into a dark alcove off from the path they were on, dragging him down into the shadows with her. "Almost there," she murmured, jerking her head over to the right. "The door are open for the Velocifighters; we'll get out through there." She paused, a frown in her voice when she asked, "Will your glider come when you call it?"

"I think so," he whispered back, frowning himself. The Power was answering grudgingly at best, but it was definitely responding. "It summoned my saber at least..."

"Well, you've got nothing to lose by trying," Ashley reasoned. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah." His heart was pounding wildly--if they made it just past the Velocifighters, they would be free and he would be a ranger again. "I'm ready."

"Okay." He heard Ashley take a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Let's go."

Andros nodded once and let her lead the way, still not exactly sure where he was himself. Ashley took off at as fast a run he had ever seen from her and the moment he emerged in the cavernous bay used for docking the Velocifighters, he understood why. Dozens of Quantrons crowded the room, and though they had been strolling around almost casually, the moment they caught sight of the two rangers tearing through the docking bay, they fell into attack stances.

He didn't stop running to fight them, simply blasting them out of the way with his powered-up Spiral Saber. Ashley was running sideways, covering their backs. They were so close...

"Just a little farther," Ashley said aloud, and he smiled without meaning to at the encouragement. "Ready?"

He nodded, turning to help her force back the Quantrons still on their heels. "Galaxy glider--hang ten!" they shouted together. Neither glider appeared for a moment and Andros shot at the Quantrons without stopping, hearing the thud of his heart in his ears. He hadn't gotten this far just to be captured now.

He caught a twin flashes of red and yellow out of the corner of his eye, sneaking a glance over his shoulder without turning his head. Sure enough, the two gliders were side-by-side and hurtling towards them. Ashley didn't wait a moment longer and threw herself into a forward flip, landing neatly on her glider an instant later. Andros followed suit, launching himself into the air and feeling his feet touch down on his glider a half second later.

"Let's get out of here!" Ashley called over his shoulder, already accelerating. He nodded, whole-heartedly in agreement, and took off after her, the last sound he heard before space swallowed up all noise being Velocifighters firing up.

"They're coming after us," he warned, speaking into the comm link between them. "We've got to hurry."

"The Megaship's not too far away," Ashley informed him. He watched her body tilt forward to gain speed and frowned, clearly recalling the order he had given Deca to take the Megaship out of enemy space.

"It shouldn't be this close," he mused, sparing a glance over his shoulder and regretting it the moment he saw the Velocifighters rapidly gaining on them. "I told Deca to--"

"I heard what you told her," Ashley cut in, and he wondered if he was imagining the annoyance in her tone. "I told her to bring us closer before I left. There's no way we'd make it back otherwise. We're in hyperspace and they're still gaining on us!"

Another glance over his shoulder confirmed that she was right. The Velocifighters had closed in on them too quickly and were preparing to fire. He shouted a warning to Ashley, breathing a sigh of relief when she expertly maneuvered around the red streak of laser fire. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite so lucky, realizing too late that his glider wasn't responding to his commands as quickly as it used to.

"Andros!"

Ashley's voice screaming his name was the only thing he was aware of as his glider flipped. For what seemed like a very long time, he was suspended in space, just floating in nothingness. Then he saw his glider below him but rapidly slipping away and lunged forward with all the energy he had left in him, his fingers grasping the very edge of the surface and just barely hanging on.

"Andros!" Ashley shouted again, wheeling around and heading back for him. "Hold on!"

He didn't answer, his eyes fixed on the three Velocifighters coming up fast and the several more just behind those, knowing that there was no way he'd survive if they managed to hit him. Then he was being yanked down and laser fire was streaking by over his head--just where he had been a moment ago.

"You okay?"

He nodded briefly before letting Ashley step around in front of him. Her glider sped up once again, somehow managing to successfully dodge the laser fire from the Velocifighters. Andros almost relaxed, now fully confident that Ashley could get them both back to the Megaship safely. She'd managed to get them both off of the Dark Fortress, after all, and he knew that had been no easy task.

"Thank you," he said quietly, breaking the heavy silence between them.

"You're welcome," Ashley replied after a moment, and he couldn't mistake the satisfaction in her tone. "But we're not safe yet."

"No," he agreed, glancing over his shoulder instinctively. As he'd expected, he saw Velocifighters. "Ash..."

"How many?"

"Just one that I can see," he said nervously, not at all liking how quickly it was approaching. "Can we go any faster?"

"I can try," Ashley said doubtfully. "But with both of us, I'm not sure... Hold on."

Andros took her at her word, leaning forward and slipping both of his arms around her waist. He'd half expected her to protest, but strangely, he thought he felt her relax. Surprised, but not about to complain, he hugged her closer, feeling the warmth of her body against his. The sensation was almost frighteningly comforting; they were alone in deep space and being chased by Velocifighters, but somehow that was less alarming because she was here with him.

He felt Ashley sigh and glanced past her, catching his breath when he saw the Megaship looming in front of them. They'd actually done it! Blinking in disbelief, Andros just stared, hearing Ashley's shouted command to Deca only distantly. The chilly depths of space vanished without warning, replaced by the holding bay of the Megaship.

Andros saw the flash of yellow signaling that Ashley had demorphed, but he couldn't do anything but stare down at himself, not daring to demorph himself for fear that the next time he tried to morph he would find that the Power was gone again, and for good this time.

"Andros?" Ashley's hand appeared on his arm and he started, jumping visibly and almost tripping across one of the stools. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," he whispered shakily. He was still staring down at himself with a sense of wonder that was quickly being replaced by elation. "I--I--I'm not dreaming this time."

"No," Ashley agreed, and he was suddenly grateful that she couldn't see his face as he realized that he'd spoken aloud. "This is real."

"Power down," he muttered, watching his suit brighten and then vanish, but knowing that it would be there the next time he called for it. This was real. Without thinking, he stepped forward and gathered Ashley into his arms, holding her tight as an uncontainable grin spread across his face. This was real.

"Thank you," he whispered in her ear.

"Glad to help." Ashley laughed softly in his ear, and the sound took the edge off of the exasperation he'd heard in her voice. "But don't ever do that again!"

"Andros?"

His euphoria dimmed a bit as he heard Zhane's voice from behind him. Reluctantly releasing Ashley, he stepped back to see the rest of the rangers gathered in the doorway, Zhane and Karone in the lead, and none of them looking at all pleased.


	36. Chapter 36

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Power Rangers.

**Author's Note:** Thanks so much for all your reviews! You guys are the best. It's starting to take way to much room for me to respond to you here, so I guess I'll start making use of the review reply button. I'll still try to answer any questions that you have here. This is the last chapter of Part 1, so enjoy!

**Chapter 36**

"I, um..."

Words failed him when the rangers crowded themselves into the doorway. Andros settled for raising up his left wrist, biting down on his lower lip nervously when the outright anger he saw in Zhane's face didn't abate. His gaze slid past his friend to his sister, who was equally furious, but there was sadness in her expression as well. Andros figured the Earth rangers would be the easiest on him; Carlos and TJ appeared vaguely impressed, and Cassie merely exasperated.

"Andros..." Zhane just stared at him, running a hand through his tousled hair in obvious frustration and disbelief. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I had to do this," Andros said firmly, voice quiet. "If any of you had gone and not come back--"

"There's nothing to say that we wouldn't have." Zhane cut him off, shaking his head. "And what happened to your face?"

Andros winced and reached up to touch his right eye gingerly. It was tender to the touch and he sighed, knowing that it had to be black already. "Cosmos wasn't thrilled to see me."

"And the blood?"

He sighed again. "That was Lyra."

"Don't talk about one of us not coming back, then," Zhane cautioned him. "Not when it's looking like you almost didn't, besides risking Ashley's life on top of everything else."

"It wasn't that bad," Andros insisted, trying to quell the guilt stabbing at him as he realized how close he had come to costing Ashley her life as well. "They didn't want to kill me."

"No, they wanted to keep you alive and torture you until we handed them the rest of the morphers, the Megaship, and anything else they could think up," Karone snapped, speaking up for the first time. "Lyra explained it all to us quite clearly over the comm."

"There were some things that didn't go as planned," he admitted sullenly. "But I was fine."

Karone broke away from the group then, stalking across the room until she was standing right in front of him. She looked him straight in the eye and slapped him full across the face, the expression on her own enough to make him cringe. Out of the corner of his eye, Andros saw Ashley wince at the crack of skin against skin, but she had kept quiet ever since the other rangers had appeared in the doorway and made no move to defend him now.

"Don't you dare say that one more time," Karone nearly shrieked. "She showed you to us, Andros, and hanging from the ceiling in chains is **not** fine!"

"I--" Andros rubbed his stinging cheek furiously, staring at his sister helplessly. The temper she was displaying now was a side of her he rarely saw, and he doubted anyone but Zhane could get through to her when she was like this. "Karone, I--"

"Will you shut up?" Karone exclaimed. "You're not getting it, and until you do, I don't want to hear anything from you."

"But--" he protested. "I can explain..."

"I'm sure you could," Karone snapped at him. "But I don't want to hear how that was all part of your plan and how you were just waiting for the right time to escape."

"I just didn't want you to get hurt," he muttered, not looking at her. "I didn't want to lose you, too."

"I don't want to lose you, either," Karone retorted. "You're the only family I've got left!"

"That's what I was--" He tried to explain, but Karone shook her head.

"It's not what you were thinking," she said, calmly now. "You were thinking that you were perfectly capable of going off on your own without anyone or anything to help you. You were thinking that you were being noble. It was selfishness, Andros."

"Karone..." Andros heard pleading slip into his voice, but he couldn't care. He had to make her understand somehow.

"I'll see you in the morning," she cut him off. With that, she turned on her heel and stalked off, the other rangers stepping aside to make room for her.

"Good night, Andros," Zhane said, more amiably than Karone but his voice still rather chilly. He left without another word, presumably to hunt down his girlfriend.

Andros said nothing as he watched them both leave, unable to think past the nervousness twisting its way around his insides. He'd thought that they would have understood. Clearly, he'd been very wrong, and he could only hope that their anger would blow over soon.

"They'll get over it." Cassie was the first to break the silence, and he looked to her in surprise. "They're upset, Andros, not angry. You didn't see them before on the bridge; when Lyra said that she had you... You scared them."

He'd scared himself, too, not that he ever would have admitted it. He'd been trapped, and there was no one that knew where he'd gone... Andros shook his head, not wanting to think about that.

"Thanks," he muttered. "I'll talk to them again in the morning."

"It is morning," TJ informed him. "They'll be more reasonable when they're less cranky."

"Yeah," Carlos agreed. "It'll all be fine in a few hours."

"Thank you," he said again, genuinely this time. "I hope you're right."

"Of course we are," Cassie said flippantly. "But just so you know, if you ever do something this... moronic," she decided, "again, we might not be so understanding."

"Exactly." Carlos nodded. "You're a part of this team now--or again, I mean."

A small smile crept across Andros's face at the words. It was true. Not that they would have denied him their friendship if he had sought it out, but there would have always been a barrier between them. That feeling was gone now, and there was nothing keeping him apart from his friends and teammates any longer.

"That goes for me too," TJ said, stifling a yawn with his hand. "But I think I'm going back to bed."

"Yeah," Carlos agreed. "I'll see you guys in the morning."

"Night," Cassie added over her shoulder as she followed them.

"Night, you guys," Ashley called after him, the first she'd spoken since they'd noticed the other rangers in the doorway.

Andros studied her expression carefully, not sure how he should read the complete neutrality he saw in her face. He'd been expecting her to defend him, he admitted to himself. She'd rescued him, after all, and he didn't think she would have done that if she hadn't understood...

"Deca, teleport two to the med bay," Ashley said abruptly.

Andros opened his mouth to protest, but found himself transported to the med bay more quickly than Deca had ever sent him anywhere. Apparently, she was angry with him, too. He grimaced as he remembered what Deca did when she was angry, too distracted at the thought of what he would be eating for the next week to object as Ashley shoved him onto the patient bed.

She turned away from him and rummaged around for what he assumed was medical supplies, still not speaking to him. Andros watched her back with a sinking feeling as it dawned on him that she wasn't acting like she was anymore pleased with him than any of the others had been.

"You're angry, too."

Ashley sighed loudly, but finally looked at him. She handed him an ice pack and motioned for him to cover his black eye, considering him for a long moment before she said anything.

"I think you were stupid," she said finally, and he looked away. "Very stupid... but," she added, and he felt his hopes rising just little. "I think you meant it when you said you went because you didn't want anyone else to get hurt."

"I did," he said quietly, eager to make her understand completely. "That's why I had to go alone."

"And that," Ashley informed him as she pressed a drenched cloth to his forehead, "is what makes it stupid."

"What?" He hissed in pain as the disinfectant in the cloth proved it was working, burning away half his skin in the process, it felt like.

"Did you ever stop to think of what would happen if you hadn't come back?" she continued, ignoring his obvious discomfort and holding the cloth to his skin for what felt like a very long time.

"Of course I did," he said indignantly. "But--"

"Then why did you do it?" she demanded, turning away from him rather quickly. "Why wouldn't you let us help you?"

"Because it would have been better if I hadn't come back than if--"

"So you're life is worth less than any of ours?"

"No." He blinked in confusion, and then sighed. That wasn't what he had meant her to think, but he didn't know how else to say it. "But it was my fight."

"Here," Ashley said sharply, shoving a bandage into his free hand. "Put this on."

Hurt by her tone, he stared at her uncertainly for a moment before he lowered the ice pack from his eye and tore open the bandage. Ashley took the ice pack and disposed of it while he applied the adhesive bandage to his forehead and tried to ignore how she was watching him.

"Why did you come after me, then?" he finally had to ask. "If you thought it was stupid of me to go off alone, why did you do the same?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "But don't try to tell me that was the same thing. Deca told you she couldn't control where you ended up, and you went anyway! I was worried about you."

"You were?" He tried not to smile, thinking that would set her off somehow.

"Yeah." Ashley paused. "Where did you land, by the way?"

He sighed. "Control room."

"Andros..."

"I told you I had no control over your teleportation," Deca broke in. "Yet you felt it was a risk worth taking."

Andros rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry, Deca," he said with a sigh. "You were right."

"Well, at least you're listening to someone," Ashley muttered, and he looked to her with a guilty sigh.

"I'm sorry," he said again, this time apologizing to her. "The last thing I wanted was to put you in danger."

"This isn't about that," Ashley exclaimed, sounding as frustrated as he had felt a moment ago. "You don't get it, do you? You don't know what would have happened to Karone and Zhane if you hadn't come back, or to the rest of us. You mean something to us, Andros, even if you don't want to, and if you hadn't come back..."

"It would have bothered you that much?" he asked before he thought better of it. It hadn't occured to him to wonder how she would have taken the news of his death. He had just assumed...

"Of course it would have," Ashley exploded. "I don't even know why, but it would have!"

"What?"

"All I know," Ashley said, her voice calmer now, "is that an hour ago, I thought I was never going to see you again. And that was the worst I can ever remember feeling."

Andros caught his breath at her words, staring at her in amazement. He hadn't dared to think that she thought of him as anything more than a friend, and a slightly distant one at that, but if losing him was really the worst that she could ever remember feeling... Suddenly, he had to know.

"Ashley," he said quietly, catching her attention as he slid off of the bed. "Look at me."

She did, her eyes widening as he stepped closer. Andros laid one hand along her face, stroking her cheek gently and smiling when he saw her eyes close. She blinked them open a moment later, looking at him as uncertainly as he knew he had to be. He leaned down and kissed her then before he could lose his nerve, his mouth lingering against hers for as long as he thought she would let him.

"I, um..." Ashley blushed faintly and glanced away. "That was... wow."

Andros heard her take a deep breath and tried to calm the furious thudding of his heart. He'd never been good at reading people, and was starting to think that he'd just made a terrible mistake.

"Ash?" he ventured, biting down on his lip nervously. "Should I... not have done that?"

Ashley shook her head slowly, but didn't speak. Andros watched her anxiously, unable to tell whether she had meant no, he shouldn't have kissed her or no, he should have. She hesitated only a moment more, but it was enough to nearly drive him crazy.

Then Ashley stepped forward again and she was kissing him back. Far more certain of himself than he had been a minute before, Andros returned the kiss fervently, feeling Ashley's arms wrap themselves around his neck and hold him tight. He slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, finally feeling at peace for the first time in as long as he could remember.

**Author's Note 2: **Well, I think that was a productive use of the last... oh, six months or so. Part 2 will be up within a week or so. I know I still owe sequels to both "Love Isn't Always Enough" and "Saving Angel" but I think I'll be finishing this first, if only because I can't decide what I'm doing for one of those sequels, and I threw out the first seven chapters of the other. They will be written, I promise, but... not for awhile.

So what did you think? Praise is good, constructive criticism is even better, please just review!


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